Post-Holiday Wedding Update

I can't believe it has been a month since my last update! Mr. Nee and I have been busy dealing with the hustle and bustle of the holidays that I didn't have the time or energy to do a proper update. I was also sick for the bulk of the break which was not fun at all.

First, I bought my dress but I am not going to reveal what it looks like. Some of you may know but the rest of you will have to wait until the wedding (or post wedding pics) to see it. My mother is making me a robin egg blue sash with a copper organza overlay to create an inverse patina effect (hopefully). My etsy dress designer has agreed to make a bolero based on the J. Crew dress that I loved.

Second, I took advantage of the major After Christmas sales to get some awesome decorations for our centerpieces. Most of them are Christmas ornaments (or meant to be Christmas ornaments) but since they are in non-traditional holiday colors such as turquoise, purple, and copper I think they won't give off the Christmas vibe. I even got some little woodland creatures for the centerpieces to represent our camping/hiking adventures. Two of the little critters will be our cake topper which is based on an inside joke between the two of us. Most of the ornaments I bought were ridiculously cheap like under $2 or $3. I also bought some from the Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters websites on New Years when they had extra discounts on their sale items.

Third, my sister bought her Maid of Honor dress. It is super cute on her and I think it is very appropriate for the type of wedding we are going to have. I'm not sure how to describe the color of the dress. In the store it looked almost chocolate brown with a blue shimmer but the website says it is "charcoal." Here a picture of it on the Nordstrom website if you want to take a look at it.

Fourth, Mr. Nee and I are still deciding on a caterer. We are leaning towards a restaurant rather than a catering company because they tend to be a little bit more affordable. We are thinking Lucha Libre Taco Shop if the price is right mainly because I prefer their food over El Indio but they will also cater while wearing lucha masks. Mr. Nee believes as gringos that we have no right especially since I blogged a few months ago about an affluent white couple with no ties to Mexico having a really horrible, derogatory Mexican-themed wedding to have luchadores serve us food. Neither one of us is obsessed with Lucha Libre but we both love this restaurant partly because of the lucha libre theme. I don't want to be hypocritical but at same time wouldn't just be so kick ass to have luchadores at our wedding?

Over the next few months we need to do the following:
-Create and send out Save the Dates
-Select a caterer
-Select a someone to bake our cake
-Figure out linens
-Create and send out Invitations

Save the Date!

Since we became engaged, Mr. Nee and I had been discussing the possibility of different dates. Initially, we thought we would get married Spring 2011 since I will be in SB this academic year. However, after some discussion, we decided to get married in the fall of 2010. We both love that time of year in SD and if you know me, I have a deep love for all things autumnal especially if it involves pumpkin. So the big day is...


October 10th, 2010 better known as 10/10/10.

Yes, a little cheesy but it will be easy to remember and this sort of day only happens once in a 100 years.

Once we figured the date we began our search for the ceremony/reception site. There is a park near our house that we absolutely love. We have had picnics there, many evening walks and one bad tennis game. We also love this park's history. Over a hundred years ago, this park was a Catholic cemetery filled with Irish, Italian and Mexican immigrants and well, technically it still does. Around the mid-century, the cemetery ceased to operate and was abandoned. In the 1970s, the city decided to turn the space into a park but rather than removing the 4,500 individuals buried there, they decided to remove the headstones and place playground equipment over the graves. The majority of the headstones were discarded but some were placed in a drainage ditch at a nearby cemetery. A few years ago, the city brought back the headstones that were discarded in the drainage ditch and made a plaque to honor those who are still interred at the park. For a complete history check out this awesome website that was created by students at the elementary school next to the park.

Most of our friends loved the idea of having a ceremony based on love, commitment and everlasting friendship on top of those who for so long were abandoned and forgotten. One friend even suggested we do a zombie theme wedding. Now, I really like zombie movies but I don't think I love them enough to base the entire theme of our wedding on that. Another friend suggested serving a fusion of Irish, Italian and Mexican food (for example: blood sausage and micheladas).

We were definitely thinking that this site could also be our reception site but after walking around the park on a crowded weekend afternoon, we figured it might be impossible to reserve that much space and the logistics involved might be a bit too much for us to handle.

I began looking at museums and other non traditional reception venues. I came across a hall in Balboa Park which will accommodate the number of guests and allow us to bring in an outside caterer. Its in one of the older buildings in the park featuring old Mission architecture and a beautiful mural and fountain. Oh and it was cheap, hella cheap. The cost to rent the space for 8 hours is only about a fifth of the cost to hold a reception at one of the museums in the park for 3 hours. So yeah, its a steal. They will set up the tables but we have to decorate and organize the caterer and all that. Anyone want to volunteer to be on our wedding decorating committee? Mr. Nee put in the reservation for it the other and we got it! We are both happy that that weight is off our shoulders.

Since our reception is going to be in Balboa Park, we began to explore other ceremony site options within the park itself. Even though we love Graveyard park, it would cost about $250 for the permit and about $100 for the chair rental, not to mention all the flowers and other decorations. So we are considering the possibility of having a ceremony at one of the gardens like our favorite garden in the park, Zoro Garden. Zoro Garden used to be a nudist colony but now is home to thousands of butterflies in the spring. Unfortunately, we are getting married in the fall when there will be no butterflies and very few flowers in bloom. However, I believe the permit is more affordable than the city park and they will include seating.

We need to make a decision regarding the ceremony site pretty soon as well as the caterer. I am debating on whether or not to go to a bridal expo in Del Mar in two weeks when I am in town for a conference so that I can investigate some catering options as well as taste some cakes. :-) Anyone want to go with me to fully experience the bridal industrial complex?