I love him.

Unprovoked, Boy started his own wedding blog.

Check it out: Sezzy's Boy

Now I'm humming Gershwin. (Who could ask for anything more?)

I lied.

I will not be talking about local venues today. I got distracted.

Fear not. The only local venue we have seriously considered is one I already featured! I will give you more news as I have it.

Mkay. So, veils.

This is one of the many areas of bridedom that have thousands of options. The nice thing about this is that I'm sure to find a style that works for me. The not-so-nice thing is that I have absolutely no expertise in this matter.

According to the wedding channel's website, there are twelve different styles of veil. This might seem daunting, but since I plan to try lots of things on and choose whichever one makes me giggle the most I'm not worried.

Oh, David's Bridal called last night and will call again in the spring to set up dress shopping excursion. More news on that (for you maids, esp.) when it's relevant. I'm thinking June.

Anyway- pretty pictures of veils!


I really like the "my hairstyle is oozing this pretty fabric" way that many veils are pinned, but I kind of want a little bit of sparkle or a flower of some sort.



Birdcage veils are both stylish and fun, but eliminate the fun/major emotional moment of Dad flipping the front part of the veil up after the walk down the aisle. Maybe for the reception?

By the way... Boy asked if I was going to have two dresses: as in a different dress for the reception. Isn't that nuts? I mean, I know that it's hip and it would definitely be fun, but did I really just hear the Groom suggest spending more money for the sake of fashion?!

Crazy.

Mmm. So putting aside the fact that this is a simply beautiful shot (clicky the picture to go to the site), I don't like edging on veils. It reminds me too much of my little first communion veil, and I was horribly sick on my first communion. It's also the first time I encountered Nick, and who wants to remember that?


Love hair. Love veil. This image is a keeper. My only question is about how this works when the blusher part of the veil is flipped up as you walk down the aisle. Does it flip over the hair? Doesn't that violate the laws of gravity?


I Adore the drama of this. I am a little bit attached to a fingertip veil, but something about the cascading fabric of a cathedral length veil is mesmerizing. Her hair looks like a muffin, but the veil is gorgeous!

What do you think?

Venue Hunting

Boy and I's first duty is to choose a venue. Even though we won't be using it for a year and a half. Apparently there is logic there.

Anyway. A-searching we shall go. If we plan on a State College affair, we have five options. Three of those options are palatable, the others... not so much. Remember how much I thought I would hate drop ceilings? I was wrong. I utterly loathe and dispise them. Just seeing them in a banquet hall makes me think of getting married in someone's basement. Ew.

Option 1: The Nittany Lion Inn


Upshot: I worked here when I was in college, so I know the place in and out. I know what it looks like set up for a wedding in each of the rooms and what all of the food tastes like. (omg coconut chicken) I also know for absolute certain that they can prepare a yummy vegan meal, which is important because two of Boy and I's favorite VIPs are vegan.

Downside: The price is a little steep if you want to do a seated dinner with a combination platter. I also worry about having a cookie cutter PSU wedding...

Option 2: The Penn Stater


Upshot: Less expensive than the Nittany Lion Inn with roughly the same menu. There are also many more guest rooms here than at the Inn.

Downside: This is farther from downtown, so you'd either have to drive or bus it here. (I am kind of excited about CATA bus surfing in a wedding dress... but that's just me) Also, the Thon banquet I attended here reminded me of my Junior Prom at the Fort Washington Expo Center (giant warehouse like place).

Option 3: Toftrees

Upshot: It's beautiful. They have lots of outdoor areas, and there is a pretty golf course. The rooms are lovely and it's a great setting for a country club wedding.

Downside: It's expensive, and they have fewer options. It's also not as integrated with the campus and downtown areas, so it doesn't have as much of an authentic feel.

So that's what there is in State College. What do you guys think?

Up next: What about a down-home wedding in the Philly 'Burbs?

Narrowing down our style

The poll is currently in a four way tie, which I actually love because it speaks to more of what I was planning to do, which is merge!

There are many things still in the air, so right now I only have things that I like. As I narrow them down, I'll bring together a cohesive board.

But until then :)
Centerpiece Love: Hydrangeas in square containers, although there seem to be way too many wine glasses in this picture. I guess one is for water?


Bouquet Love: Simple. Clean. Classic. Perhaps with brightly colored ribbon around the holdy-thingy (handle? Somehow that doesn't sound right.)


Bridesmaid Love: I've already talked about my desire for black maid's dresses, and these are stunning.

Sigh... this wedding planning thing is fun :)

Wedding Fitness

T minus a year and half (ish) until the wedding.

According to Boy, this means time to get in shape. Which means running.

Ouch.

Look, my people (Irish suburban band/literature geeks) do not run. There are countless reasons for this, not the least of which are: we often fall down, it creates stabby ouchies in our legs, it causes coughing for several hours afterward, and there are no books involved.

But I ran anyway. Because I said "yes." And that means we're in this together now. And I like that.

I like that things, for now, feel a little different. I guess that I wasn't really expecting that. Remember, Boy and I have been living in sin for more than 2 years now. That's about half of our relationship. So we did the "wow, we're together all the time now, let's do it!" phase. We did the "really? Do you have to take your shirts off inside out all the time?" arguments. (Sorry- I really do almost always end up with the shirts inside out... I don't even know how it happens!) So I figured that we were, for all intents and purposes, married already.

But this is something different. Good different. Great, in fact.

Seriously though, ouch.

Any tips for wedding fitness?

"Best Wishes"

I had no idea about the whole "congratulations" versus "best wishes" thing and needed to have it explained to me. (Apparently you say "best wishes" to the bride because saying "congratulations" implies she achieved something... like landing a fantastic boy.)

Some Bride I turn out to be.

But so it begins. All of this imagining has left me with, as I predicted, no actual idea of what I want our wedding to look like. We have decided on a few particulars so far:

• June 2010
• Either State College or Philadelphia area (already a point of minor contention)
• rough budget- although we have honestly no idea how much weddings cost... please help!!!
• Online bits such as our photos and our wedding party wiki
• we will have groomsmen AND ushers, which has confused my dad, but I assure you makes sense to us.

But it feels like so many big things are still undecided, and that is making me nervous. Which is crazy.

I am well aware.

So, I need you. I am going to post my top five favorite boards (in no particular order). Please vote for your favorite one! (clicking an image will take you to the original post)

1. The very first
2. Teal Awesomeness

3. Peonies

4. Bright and sunny5. Our Song

6. Green Gardens
7. Elegant Eggplant
Yeah. I know, that was seven, not five. I have a couple of favorites- but I want to know yours! Check the side navigation for the poll and feel free to leave your reasons in the comments.

Welcome, welcome!

Back, that is. Thanks for returning after my break.

It was nice to even set aside the blogs and chill for a week to focus on what really matters: friends, family, and fantastic NYE parties.

Remember, I was very excited for this occasion. It did not disappoint.

Christmas though, came first, and netted me a fantastic little pink digital camera. It came with an equally fantastic and equally pink printer, and the purchase of the set gave a tiny amount of money to breast cancer research, so that was a very thoughtful move on Boy's part.

And, to be honest, I thought that I would be crushed and sulk if I didn't get my ring on Christmas, but I wasn't. And I didn't.

I'm not sure why.

So NYE came and I was stoked. Our friends were in town and we made buckets of delicious food. The hit of the evening was Boy's hash brown casserole. All was well, until Boy called me upstairs about ten minutes before midnight. And then all was... perfect.

The joining of my previous favorite present and my Favorite Present Ever: the Precious.

I called Becky, my fantastic sister, upstairs and immediately crowned her supreme Maid of Honor before Boy and I left our dream world into the cheering, jumping, and toasting group of most of our closest friends.

I called family, which DaddySez assures me was hilarious because I was having trouble stringing together my words to make sentences happen. These calls included Aunt Spikey (not a BlogMoniker, this is what we actually call her. Trust me, she's exactly as awesome as she sounds.) , who told me to make sure I told Eric, "Welcome, welcome."

And a true "welcome, welcome" to you as well.



Thanks for being with me thus far. For reading when I pre-planned and imagined. I humbly beg you to stick around, because I'm going to need some serious help with this. Help that involves martinis. And a fantastic planning binder that I've already purchased.

Because right now all I can do is stare at Boy, stare at the Precious, and grin.




More precious shots and photos of the engagement for those interested will be kept on our Picasa site.