the night in.

Remember when you were a kid and it felt like the days lasted forever and milestone birthdays were ages away?  Well, it would seem that it's the exact opposite from about the age of 21 and on... I can't even remember what I spent my 22-24 years doing.  There was college, South Korea, more college and work.  Now, in my "mid-twenties" (argh- that just sounds bad), I am terrified that this wedding planning, the wedding itself and everything thereafter will be one big blur!

So, I'm trying my very best to bask in each day- even though I am always looking forward to the weekend.  Viewing each day from a childlike perspective is more difficult than one might think since work, deadlines and bills are the main focus of each week.  But, taking a minute to really savor daily experiences is going to be one of my goals for... well, forever.

Last night, Nick and I had Thai food for dinner followed by yummy dessert in the form of ice cream sandwiches!

Today Nick and I went shopping for our engagement photo outfits.  Little did I know how difficult it really is to complete this task!

We (ahem-I) decided that we would do one dressy and one "casual" outfit.  Nick's dressy outfit was easy to put together... dark denim, white dress shirt, grey vest and skinny textured tie.  It looks great!  Me, however, well... finding something took many hours of online perusing since Nick has little to no patience while we are shopping in store.  His motto is, "Women go shopping, men go buying."

Anyway, I finally found this simple black dress from Topshop.

Awkward:

Over the past few weeks we've been looking at photographers for our engagement shoot at Disneyland.  There are a few things we know we want from the session:

• Photos taken when the parks are decorated for the holidays.
• Classic photos in normal clothing at Disneyland.
• 1940's inspired photos at DCA (to go along with the current theme on Buena Vista street).

Seriously, every time I think about the fact that we need to book our engagement photos by next month, put down our deposit for our venue and save enough to move by the end of December... all I see is $$$$$ (all while suffering heart palpitations and the panicked thought that we are going to have to move our wedding to 2014).

But, in all seriousness, that might actually be what happens.  Nick has a potential job opportunity that would take him to a different city for 6 months... I would probably have to stay here since my job is here and we would need both career incomes for the wedding.  This means that we would have to push the wedding back since moving it up is out of the question due to finances.  The uncertainty is so stressful, but we literally have to take it one step at a time.  His second interview is this Monday.  I'm doubting we will know for sure what our future will look like until the end of this year.

Regardless of the fact, our engagement photos do still have to be taken in December.  We are planning on going to Disneyland to take them and I want the Christmas decor in the background.  So, my questions is...

How much is too much to spend on engagement photography?

The photographer we are considering is amazing!  But, as the saying goes... you get what you pay for, and she costs a pretty penny (not to mention the fact that we need to purchase admission to the parks, hotel and food for both her and us)!  The other photographer we have spoken with costs $150 less, but her work falls into the great, but not out of this world category.  Is it worth the extra dough to get what we want?

My Maid of Honor and one of my bridesmaids came with me when I tried on dresses (see that post here).  Ariella, my bridesmaid, was awesome at capturing my "emotions" as I came out in each dress.

You know when you're sitting at home watching Say Yes to the Dress and the bride on TV comes out in an elaborate gown, looks in the mirror and everyone in the room cries?

Yeah, me neither. *cough cough*

No, but really.  I thought that I would feel this way last Saturday when I found "the one".  14 dresses in, I had found plenty of "pretty" dresses that looked great... but nothing really striking.

Remember that first dress I have posted here?

It feels like Nick and I have looked at a million wedding venues already, even though it's only been 6.  Here are my thoughts on the ones we have checked out so far...

1. Victoria's Wedding Chapel
I was actually immediately turned off by the name at first, but decided to go look at it because the photos looked great and my best friends brother works there.  The sales person who took us on a tour of the property was very friendly and funny.  We did not care much for the chapel, and the gazebo area was nice.  However, I did not like that the gazebo area did not offer much of an aisle for me to walk down.  The reception room was amazing!  A separate room for the buffet, large dance floor and photo booth.

2. Red Rock Country Club
The day we visited, a wedding was being set up.  This was not your average wedding... based on the Hollywood props, color changing dance floor and ornate rental furniture it was difficult to gain a sense of what the venue would look like normally.  Our tour was quick, and everything was nice.  The ceremony site did not thrill us, although the website photos looked great it was much different in person.  We determined that it was out of our desired budget.

3. Emerald at Queensridge
This venue is at the very top of our list because it is absolutely beautiful, from the bridal suite, ceremony site and reception hall- breathtaking.  The all inclusive package brings everything full circle, however there are about a million upgrades that bring the picture together.  This is where it becomes difficult.  Custom lighting?  $500.  Photo Booth? $800.  CD of photos from photo boot?  $250.  Chair sashes?  $6/each... the list goes on and on.  Of course we don't need these things, but the reception room basically requires them to provide ambiance.  It is still an option, but we know that our budget will break if we choose it.

4. The Grove
We visited this venue at 9am on my birthday.  I expected to be blown away.  I mean, look at the website photos!  Yes, the gazebo ceremony site is wonderful.  Yes, they allow outside vendors (except for food and alcohol which is standard).  However, the reception room is dowdy and you must walk through the not so appealing public restrooms to reach the bride and groom rooms.  It was a nay for both of us.

5. Wild Horse Golf Club
I emailed the events coordinator, Elena, for a quote and she promptly responded.  However, the quote exceeded our budget by leaps and bounds, so I thanked her for the quote and told her that it was out of our reach.  She quickly responded that the packages can be customized and we should come down for a tour to see what could be done.  So, we did.  Although the parking lot butts up against some not so appealing apartments, the club house is far away enough to forgive this.  I liked how it did not look like a snooty club house, but instead had a warm, old house feel to it.  The reception hall is nothing special, but it's a canvas that can be dressed up.  The ceremony site is right next to the club house.  Simple, clean and pretty.  The main reason this location is a "finalist" for us is really because of Elena.  She has truly been awesome and indulged me in the million questions I have been asking her!  This might be a winner.

6. Ventano Italian Grill & Seafood
I had not considered a restaurant as an option, but one of my co-workers told me that her son got married at Ventano a few years back and it was amazing.  On a whim, Nick and I had lunch at the restaurant and we loved the food!  I asked to see the banquet room and our server took me on a tour, explained what the ceremony (on the patio) would look like and put together an information packet.  He told me to call on Monday to get more information from the event manager.  Everything about this place is great... except I'm a bit worried about the space.  The banquet room is supposed to fit 110 comfortably, but the room was set up for about 45 when we looked at it and looked a bit squished.  Plus, at this location, we would have to put the wedding together ourselves (from DJ to photographer) which could be a bit too much.


I'm a little burned out from looking at places, but it feels like we need to decide now, considering all of the expenses and the fact that we want to secure our date.  Hopefully, this week we will be able to make up our minds and move on to the next task at hand!