Toast

My beautiful baby sister got married this past weekend.... details and photos to follow. For now, I want to share the toast I gave at the reception - you know, just because I wasn't POSTING this weekend doesn't mean I wasn't letting my creative juices flow.

This photo, snapped by Kyle as Caitlin walked down the aisle, captures my emotion pretty well... so you can imagine what a tough time I had reading the toast. But I actually managed to hold it together pretty well through the whole thing. Although when they had their first dance (to dixieland delight) I totally lost it.



Anyway, enjoy.


"Hello and Good Evening! For those of you who don't know me, I’m Courtney, the very proud big sister of our glamorous Bride. I want to start out tonight by congratulating Caitlin and Drew on their amazing wedding. The perfect day and the perfect venue for an absolutely perfect couple, it is truly an honor to be part of such a special occasion.

I’d also like to thank all of you, Caitlin and Drew’s friends and family, for coming here today, to celebrate with us. I know it means the world to our bride and groom to have each and every one of you here.

Caitlin – I just have say – you look STUNNING today. Absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Drew is a lucky man. It seems like just yesterday that we’re were running a line of duct tape down the middle of our shared room to separate “My” side from “Yours”. It seems like yesterday that I’d be tickling you till you cried, and of course then you tell on me to mom and I’d get in trouble, because I’m older and apparently I should KNOW BETTER than to tickle a person to point of tears. When we were little and we’d fight our mom used say, “Oh you two, how can you fight??? It breaks my heart. Don’t you know how lucky your are to have a SISTER???” And while our mom does have a flair for the dramatic, she was right. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have Caitlin as a sister. For 26 years, she has been my sidekick, my sounding board, my shopping buddy, my favorite dance partner, my confidant, and my very best friend.

Now, I never knew Drew before he dated Caitlin, so I can't tell you a whole bunch of stories about him, but I can tell you that I think he is perfect for my sister. I remember, four years ago, Caitlin telling me about this boy she met at party, how cute he was, and how they instantly connected and chatted the night away as if they were the only two people in the room. I remember thinking that this boy was toast – he never stood a chance. He was “The One” for my little sister. Drew – you are such a great guy. Funny, smart, charming, an excellent beer pong player. I have never questioned for one moment your love for Caitlin. She is truly blessed to have found you. And I can honestly say that I feel blessed to now call you family.

Caitlin, Drew, you guys are soul mates. I wish you all the best that life has to offer.

Everyone, please raise your glasses while I toast my little sister and her new husband:

Here’s to soul mates. Here’s to the crazy roller coaster called life, and to finding that special someone to share the ride with. Here’s to love, laughter, and happily ever after.

Cheers!"

:)

Wedding Re-Cap Part 1

Ok here goes....

The blur begins about two weeks before the actual *big day*. Burnt out on work, and always the procrastinator, I decided to take the two weeks BEFORE my wedding day off from my "real" job in order to devote all of my time and energy to my new "job"... a.k.a. wedding planner extraordinaire. I pretty much gave myself 14 days to finish all the stuff I had been putting off for my entire 13 month engagement. In those brief, and unbelievably hectic two weeks I:

• Hired 2 limos for the day of the wedding
• Wrote my vows, the opening prayer for our ceremony, and an outline for the rest of our ceremony
• Scheduled hair stylists for my 8 bridesmaids
• Made the decision to do my own make-up (which led to me having to stalk every MAC counter I came across asking for tips)
• Selected ceremony music
• Made a "must-play" list for the reception
• Picked out a design for and ordered the cake
• Selected all the flowers I wanted
• Made the decision to just get the D*mn Chiavari Chairs
• Bought outfits for the welcome BBQ, the rehearsal dinner, and the farewell brunch
• Rented ceremony chairs, chair sashes, and table number stands - from three DIFFERENT rental companies
• Made out of town guest welcome bags
• Made 150 escort cards, 16 table numbers, and half a dozen other cutesy little signs
• Switched freakin hotels!
• Planned the entire rehearsal dinner
• Ordered presents for my bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and our parents
• Ordered flip-flops for my guests so their heels wouldn't sink into the grass (a HUGE hit, by the way)
• Put together what I can only describe as the worlds most awesome bathroom basket ever
• Ordered a fancy engraved silver cup/chalice thing that Kyle and I used for the wine blending portion of our ceremony (which by the way, was ALSO a last minute decision) and had it shipped to my house on the DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING! (UPS and Fed-Ex saved my butt about a million times during these two weeks!)
• Ordered 7 different sashes to potentially wear with my wedding dress (p.s. I didn't end up wearing any of them)
• Bought all the wine for the rehearsal dinner
• Made a Card Box
• Sized and re-dipped my wedding ring and engagement ring
• Finalized the linen rental
• Cleaned my house top to bottom
• And probably about a million other things that I'm forgetting now!

It was absolutely NUTS. In fact, if I had it to do all over again, that is one of the only things I would change. I would not procrastinate NEARLY as much. Oh well. I was up until midnight the night before the big day, still putting last minute stuff together, but everything that I wanted to get done, got done. I was so pleased. :)

I absolutely COULD NOT have done it without my bridesmaids. They were rock stars! On the Friday before the wedding, my sis helped make my out of town gift bags and my escort cards. She also fed me - which was VERY important, b/c about 4 days before the wedding I simply stopped eating because I was so busy/stressed. Seriously, it was all she could do to get a PB&J sandwich down my throat! Lucia and Alina went to the flower market for me, picked up flowers, and made 5 GORGEOUS flower arrangements for the reception - while I was out running errands. They also picked my dress up at the cleaners and checked into my hotel room for me! And Alina gave me a necklace to wear as my "something borrowed". (Seriously, 20 hours before I walked down the aisle, I had NO IDEA what my something borrowed would be - sheesh!) Emily and Sophie broke into my apartment in the middle of the night to retrieve my "something old" (my Dad's pocketknife) and my "something blue" (a Go Blue! Michigan garter) - I had forgotten to pack them before I left for the hotel. Sara glued card stock together for my table numbers - but only after warning that she wasn't especially crafty and that I shouldn't expect them to be perfect. (They totally were!) Kim lent me her sister to assist in my make-up dry-run (yes, the night before the wedding was when I did my first dry-run of my wedding make-up.) And Erica, magically, wonderfully, miracle of all miracles, fit into her bridesmaid dress with absolutely no alterations necessary, which I attribute to her fervent prayers. (Erica's dress was lost in the mail and we had to order her a new one at the last minute... it arrived to my house a few days before the wedding and so Erica, Kyle's sister who lives in Boston, never had a chance to try it, let alone get it altered! Each of my other 7 bridesmaids needed to have their dress EXTENSIVELY altered. My sister had to take it to her tailor TWO TIMES! Erica arrived at my house, tried the dress on for the first time, and it fit like a glove. It was an absolute miracle and I absolutely believe that Someone was smiling down on us.)

On the day of the wedding these 8 amazing women dressed me, buttoned allllllll my buttons (it took FOREVER!), fed me, drove back to the hotel for me to pick up my computer (my vows were on it, and I had forgotten to bring it with me!), copied my vows from my computer to a piece of paper for me to read from during the ceremony, helped me pee, cleaned split (Red!) wine off my wedding dress, helped me switch from heals into flip flops, and just were pretty much at my beckon call all day long. Seriously amazing. I love them all and am eternally grateful.

:)

Ok, part 2 to follow... stay tuned.

Much Anticipated

Hello hello!!!!! I'm back from Malaysia!!! I have many stories to tell and much to catch up on back here in the "real world". But for now, a quick wedding slideshow from my wonderful photographer, Noah Hawthorne.

Enjoy!

Slideshow

Today

I'm awake in my hotel room... I went to bed late, but I slept well. My sister is still fast asleep... I can't stay in bed any longer. I'm getting married today! It's a wonderful feeling. :)

I'm off to shower and beautify myself for my future husband.

Hooray!

OMG! Do You SEE That Little Ticker Thing???

It says 3 days until I tie the knot. THREE DAYS!!!!!!!!

GAH!!!!!

I am 82 and a half hours away from being a MARRIED WOMAN! From having IN-LAWS! From having to check a WHOLE OTHER BOX on my taxes!!!

My wedding day has never, ever, been this close before! (It's true, think about it!) ;)

I'm off to shop for a dress for the rehearsal dinner and then to pick up a million things from Target and Jo-Anns.

I'm getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Most Delicious Sandwich Ever

Maybe it's because I've been so busy lately that most days I forgot to eat anything until about 2:30 pm - at which point I'm so ravenous that I usually just end up eating whatever is closest to my hand the second I open the refrigerator door - but I just ate what I have to call the worlds most delicious/easy sandwich EVER.

I have a LOT to do today (seating cards, chair sashes, presents for our parents, returns to Nordstrom, etc.) So I thought it might be a good idea to actually EAT something before I get to the point of almost passing out.

Sandwich Ingredients:
Sourdough Bread
Turkey
Havarti Cheese
Avocado

Directions:
Toast two pieces of sourdough bread
While bread is toasting, slice Havarti cheese and Avocado
Put cheese, turkey, and avocado on the toast and then stick the whole sandwich in the microwave for 30 seconds, or until cheese is just starting to melt.

SO EASY. (Toaster + Microwave = no skillet to clean!) And SO DELISH!

Enjoy - I'm off run about a million errands! (I'm Getting Married In FIVE Days!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Moving On

Here we are, 6 days before the wedding, Kyle and I have officially switched hotels. And switched all of our guests over too! Gah! What a logistical nightmare! But it's done and I'm moving on. P.s. If you happen to be one of my wedding guests and you HAVEN'T canceled your room at the Marriott yet - PLEASE CALL ME!

Whew.

Kyle and I are now in the process of writing our ceremony (a downside/upside to getting married outside of a church/temple/insert preferred house of worship here is that there really isn't any sort of "preset" ceremony to follow. On the one hand, the ceremony will end up being immensely personal - especially since it's Kyle's dad who will be performing the whole thing. On the other hand it's a LOT of pressure to write a meaningful/special/beautiful ceremony... part of me just wants to fall back on "for better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and in health, till death do us part." You know?)

Other than the ceremony writing part, we're getting pretty close to being ready to go!
I picked up my dress from the seamstress and took it to the cleaners to get pressed. I booked a limo to take the bridal party to the wedding (and a drunk bus to take us all home!). I met with my florist one last time to go over all the flower details. I gave a final head count to my caterer. We got presents for our bridal party members. And Kyle and I came up with all of our must play songs (including Black Eyed Peas' Don't funk with my heart and Wilco's California Stars) and our do not play songs (including I will survive and any song that has associated hand movements/line dances - think YMCA, the Hustle, the Macarena, etc. In fact, I told my DJ that if he lets the electric slide break out at my wedding he won't be getting paid.)

Kyle's parents arrive tomorrow, my mom, step-dad, and sister will be here Thursday.

I can't believe it - by this time next week I'll be a married woman. Wow!

Oh Come On!

The saga with the hotel continues... what saga you ask? Oh right. I wrote (and then deleted) a whole long pity post about how the San Mateo Marriott RUINED my wedding by allowing some stupid convention to swoop in and book EVERY SINGLE AVAILABLE ROOM in the entire hotel (all 325 of them!) that my guests were supposed to be staying at. Leaving me with just the original 25 rooms I reserved. I specifically ASKED if I should reserve more rooms, but the stupid lady handling my block ASSURED me that they were not even close to selling out and that they certainly didn't predict a sell-out and that she would call me if anything changed. Well, they did sell out, and she didn't call me. In fact, she didn't even KNOW that her entire hotel was being taken over by a convention. She's absolutely terrible at her job and hate her with a white hot passion. Basically, half my bridal party doesn't have hotel rooms at my hotel now, and they're having to stay 2 miles away, and they'll have to take cabs back and forth all weekend. So annoying. This 90% the fault of the stupid-stupid hotel... but also 10% the fault of my dear friends who procrastinated like crazy and didn't even TRY to book a hotel until the very last second. (p.s. had they booked just a few days earlier all of this heart-ache would have been avoided.) Anyway - so yeah, I spent about week in woe-is-me land basically moping around saying nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms. And I wrote a big "why does everything terrible happen to me!!!????" post. And, upon finishing it, I realized I was being a whiny self-absorbed brat. So I deleted it. I'm (mostly) over the whole situation now. But ANYWAY - there is a reason I'm telling you all this back story...

As I said, the saga with the hotel continues. I was talking to the lady at the hotel (whose eyeballs I'd like to stab out) the other day and she says, "So I should probably warn you about the convention that is taking over the hotel" And I'm like, "k....." And she's like "Well... it's sort of like a comic book convention and a star trek convention mixed together... the convention goers are fans of these comics and they are VERY dedicated, and they tend to dress up in very elaborate costumes, and really get in to character. So I just wanted to warn you, so you weren't caught off guard." And I'm thinking, "Great, so while I'm taking wedding pictures, some dude dressed as batman will be sitting in the hotel bar. Awesome."

Oh well - it'll make for some good stories at the reception, right?

Well - I looked it up online today, and it turns out that the convention is actually none other than the west coast's one and only Y.aoi-Con - "a celebration of male beauty and passion in A.nime and M.anga."

*blink blink*

Seriously?

SERIOUSLY!!!???

Beautiful cartoon men, being celebrated... by people in elaborate costumes? WHAT???

Note that there is a whole section on the website that specifically points out that Yaoi, "which has become a catchall term to indicate any story that includes a male/male relationship and is linked to Japan", is not porn. Uhhhhh, the fact that they have to point this out, to me means that it is, in fact, PORN!! The website also points out that the convention is strictly 18 and over and that much of the material is very sexually explicit. Hello - PORN!!!!

Yes. On my wedding day, I will be sharing a hotel with 325 rooms worth of people (probably like 600+ people!!!) in elaborate costumes, coming together to celebrate sexually explicit cartoon Porn.

Kill me. Kill me right now.

You can read all about it right here: http://www.yaoicon.com/what-is-yaoi-/

Did you read it? Did you note the part about it being made by women, for women? Really? Guy on guy, by women for women? Really?

My wedding is in 9 days.... and my hotel is going to be filled devout female fans of Japanese, male on male, cartoon porn. And they're going to be dressed in elaborate costumes.

I couldn't make my life up if I tried.

I've Always Wondered Where To Go To Pick Up My Fictitious Business Name

Hello Hello!!! I remember when I first got engaged, I really truly hoped that this blog wouldn't become all wedding all the time... little did I know that my LIFE would become all wedding all the time and wouldn't even have time to blog. Sheesh! In 20 oh so short days I promise to be back to blogging as usual... well... maybe after the honeymoon.

Anyway, we're getting down to the wire and things are finally starting to come together! Kyle and I went to the county clerks office and got OUR MARRIAGE LICENSE!!!!! (EEEEEEEEE!!!!!) We are now officially authorized to get married (EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!) Check out how cute we are... (and humble, no?)


Walking up to the counter... Fictitious business names????


Shelling out $78... Love may be free, but a license to wed will cost you!


Officially authorized to get married!!!!! Wheeeeeeee!

Also, as the RSVPs were rolling in I didn't think mail could possibly get any more exciting... (our "be there with bells on" RSVP cards induced some wonderful responses!) but then the PRESENTS started rolling in. Oh my! Kyle and I are now up to our ears in cardboard boxes and packing peanuts. And with the exception of one "what on earth were they thinking!!??" very off the registry gift, we've been thrilled with everything and absolutely floored by the generosity of our friends and families. But seriously? the cardboard boxes? OUT OF CONTROL! These are boxes we recycled just this weekend:


Oh so many boxes...

Also also, Kyle and I finally got our seating chart for the reception all worked out! And when I say Kyle and I got it worked out, I mostly mean that I fought with it for 3 days and cried and cursed and threw my hands in the air and told Kyle that everyone could just stand for all I care! And then Kyle took my laptop from me (perhaps for fear that I might chuck it at him), fiddled with the seating chart for about 30 minutes and Ta-dah! it was done. That man is a genius. I can't believe I get to marry him! :) So yay, my guests get to sit. Which is always nice.

Also also also (!three alsos!) We picked a cake!!! An amazingly delicious cake! Tiramisu flavored covered with white chocolate instead of frosting (I hate frosting.) My mouth waters just thinking about it... mmmmmmmmmmm.

So yeah - things are good in wedding land... I still need to find a make-up artist... and we need to finalize things with our videographer... and well, I guess at SOME POINT I should sit down and write my darn vows... but really, it's all coming together quite nicely if I do say so myself. YAY!

Alright People, Happy Thoughts!!!

For the next 45 days I'm going to focus on the positive. I'm going to do what I can with what I have. And it's going to be amazing. Take that, stress monster!

First off - Did I completely forget to post about my bridal shower/bachelorette party weekend extravaganza?? Tsk tsk! Let's go there now, shall we? It was A.MAZ.ING. I can remember at least 4 or 5 distinct moments where I had to take a minute to pause because I felt so overwhelming loved and blessed and happy. It really just doesn't get any better than that. :)

Ok, Friday night. The girls flew in from all over the freakin place and we converged on my friend Stephanie's apartment. It's been entirely too long since I've had a slumber party!


With my BFF, Kim, from New York


All the girls


Rocking the tiara


Phallic Play-Doh... the night went mostly down hill from here.


Then came Saturday! My Bridal Shower!!!!!

So much amazing food!!!


I was pretty excited about the edible arrangement.


Love these ladies


Concentrating hard on a shower game


Cake!! Strawberry shortcake - my favorite!!


My first shower present - fancy placemats for all of the Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners I'll someday serve.


Kim starting the ribbon bouquet


So excited to get my "everyday" plates


I seriously got the best presents ever!


Anything with my new "H" initial on it makes me all weepy :)


With the finished ribbon bouquet on my head.


All the girls at the party


My sis, my mom, and me

And then came Saturday night!

Whistles and shot glasses - dangerous


Rocking the "Sexy Little Bride" hoodie


The dresses in the closet


Opening presents


Cheers!!!


Some artsy black and whites


Me being silly


All the girls - all dressed up


My sis and me


My SF girls


Out at the Hotel Roosevelt Pool Bar



A few more artsy shots


My favorite twins!!!


Me at the end of the night, sitting on the ground... classy.


Sunday morning.

Is THIS What Little Girls Dream About?

Well, we're down to 46 days and I must say that I do not understand how some brides go through a sort of post partum depression after their wedding is over. Are those girls nuts??? I have officially begun the countdown to the sheer joy and jubilation that will be the day AFTER my wedding. The day that I will be married and all of this planning garbage will be done. The day that I don't have to stress about bridesmaid dresses, and makeup artists, and seating charts, and how many people want lamb or chicken, and the wedding cake, and the DJ, and what the ceremony decor should look like, and how the ceremony should flow, and the overall timeline, and what wine to get, and who should be allowed to bring a date, and how much more money we should spend, and on and on and on and on and ON.

I cry daily. Every single day. I stress about things that I didn't even know a person could stress about (most recently - what if my wedding band goes out of style in 5 years??? I can't very well get a new one, because HELLO it's my wedding band and it'll have infinite sentimental value. So do I just walk around with an out of style ring on my hand??? And mind you, I picked out THE PLAINEST ring I could find - ESPECIALLY for this reason. But what if plain goes out of style??? What if plain is ALREADY out of style!?!?!? Seriously, there are children starving in a desert somewhere and I'm worried about the trendiness of my wedding band. What has become of me?)

It's ridiculous. I don't know why anyone puts themselves through this nightmarish process.

First of all, it's expensive. OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. And no matter how much money I spend, someone else will spend more. Someone's food will be tastier, their linens will be finer, their flowers will be more extravagant, their guests will be better taken care of. So why am I even bothering? I should have just had a picnic in the park and bought a house with the left over cash.

Second of all, I don't know how anyone has the time to plan a wedding without quitting their day-job. Meeting with vendors, getting invitations out, shopping for attire, getting alterations done, tasting cakes and food and wine, making reservations, booking the venue, the hotel, the rehearsal dinner, the morning after brunch. GAH! It's enough to make a girl scream. I don't have time for all this!!!! And who does? How do other brides do this?

Third, the stress. I'm in a constant state of panic. A giant ball of stress. Did I pick the right venue, what flowers should I go with, should I get a shuttle for my guests, what was I thinking with those bridesmaids dresses, why can't I find a single freakin bra that works? Should I throw another $1000 at the latest problem that's crept up??? My head is forever spinning, and worrying, and over-analyzing. I would give my arm for a single decent night's sleep.

Is this really what little girls dream about when they put tissue paper on their heads and hum "here comes the bride" while marching down a hallway holding a fake bouquet of flowers? Is it supposed to be this hard? I just feel like I'm such an idiot when it comes to all this stuff. I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm just throwing thousands of dollars around like a blind chimp. I'm depressed and anxious and I fret mostly non-stop. It has long since ceased to be fun. And if one more person tells me to enjoy my engagement because it's such a special time and it goes by so fast I may punch them. This whole process sucks. Are we done yet?

Thirteen

Thirteen is the number of pairs of white heels that I bought online this week. (!!!) Who knew it would be so tough to find shoes that no one is even gonna freakin see!? Ugh. Thank goodnees for free shipping both ways... it's sort of like having the mall come to me! But it's also sort of like having my living room taken over by a zillion cardboard boxes. Why has no one started a shoe company that sells nothing but cute, cheap, COMFORTABLE, white satin shoes??? I'm telling you, they'd make a fortune!

In other news - my bachelorette party is this weekend in LA! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

No Turning Back Now

Exactly 2 months before the Big Day... that's when all the wedding books said the invitations should go out. And I'm not one to question the all-knowing wedding books (this is, after all, my first wedding - what do I know?) So at 9:30 last night, under the cover of darkness, Kyle and I snuck out and mailed our invitations. (Wheeeeeeeee!) I'm not exactly sure why we "snuck" out to do it... probably because we had a tad too much wine at dinner and were feeling just a little bit nervous/down right giddy.

A final check for an address and a stamp, and then Whoosh! into the big blue box they went. Hooray!!!

I know a lot of brides take their invitations into the post office and watch eagerly as each one is hand canceled... but I just don't have the patience or the time for that. I'm a dump them in the big blue box kind of bride. I'm also a don't waste money on calligraphy kind of bride. I wish I wasn't - because it really is beautiful, and I simply adore receiving beautiful things in the mail, but I can just think of so many other things I'd rather spend $150+ on. You know? And while we're on the subject of overall invitation presentation, I'll let you in on a little secret... if you ever receive an invitation that is crooked, or printed weird, or addressed upside down, or whatever, you should take it as a HUGE compliment. It means the Bride and Groom consider you a dear friend. They know you would never judge them or think less of them for sending out a less than perfect invitation. I'm serious. Imperfections = love. (I really hope the people who get an invitation from me that looks like it was addressed by drunken third grader appreciate this fact!)

Anyway, here are some pics Kyle and I took (read: *I* took) as we sent the invites on their merry way. Now begins the mailbox stalking while I wait to receive my RSVPs!!!



All addressed and ready to go! (Note, my mom addressed this one - it is WAY prettier than any of the ones *I* addressed.)


Placing the first stack into the Big Blue Box


Kyle diligently checking for stamps


Me not helping at all - too busy taking pictures!!!