Congratulations Jonathan!

After two and a half years of planning to move and work in LA, it's finally happening! Jonathan is transferring to the 310 area code to work and live in 2 weeks.

And the countdown begins!

First Joint Account

We have our first "joint" account! We are now on our own cell phone family plan and I have my own iPhone! As cheesy as it may sound, having this first joint anything is another step forward and I am so excited! Jonathan surprised me with a new iPhone 4 on August 28th and now, 2 weeks later, we prepare to go on our second family vacation!!

We have been talking about moving in together, having a joint banking account, and other together stuff but I think taking things one at a time has made it much more exciting! Being able to talk unlimited during the week is something that other couples probably take for granted. Having different cell phone providers, we tried keeping day conversations to a minimum and waited until 9pm to talk. BUT now... we can each other just say "I love you," or to talk while we drive home.

The importance of little things....

Small Wedding VS Big Wedding

Spending time with my family this weekend was amazing, it brought warm feelings back. It had been so long since I had gone to a family event due to school and work, but this weekend I was able to go right after work. It also really reinforced the importance of being one big happy family. Both on Saturday and Sunday we discussed the simplicity of a Vegas Wedding and how much more money saving it would be. AND IT WOULD, BUT I DON'T CARE. I want to share my day with my husband in unison with my family and his. I want my cousins who I spent Christmas' and Thanksgivings with, there with me, I want my aunts who took me to school, there too. I don't want to wait for my funeral to see my family in one place at the same time.

My wedding is about being the person I love, celebrating our 2 people family, with our families.

House Hunting? Apartment Hunting? Buy? Rent?

And the questions begin to arise. Now that we have been approved for more than what we can afford, we have options. We can buy and be on a tight budget with the wedding on credit... oooooor we can rent for a year or two and have my ideal wedding paid in cash. Sometimes I am amazed with the possibilities. Should we buy because the interest rates are low and we would be losing money if we rent? Should we buy a cheap 1 bedroom condo so that we can afford it on one person's income? Should we get a 2 bedroom just in case we stay there longer and have kids? Or should we rent the 2nd bedroom? Should we buy in Long Beach because that's where we have been looking at and it would be a short distance to pick up the blue line? Should we buy in a nicer place and drive to Downtown LA everyday? Where do we plan to go to grad school? How many parking spots are available? Are there washer and dryer hook ups?

I don't know. I just want him to get the job he wants in LA, I want to be together, in the same city, in the same home.

2nd Wedding Board

These are some party favors and decoration ideas.
Clippings taken from The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings

YA! DONE! FINALLY!

I gave myself the best birthday gift, peace of mind. And it was not priceless, Mastercard was there for me.

I FINALLY FOUND THE PERFECT VENUE

Last week we went to visit Sportsmen's Lodge Event Center in Studio City and I liked it even though they did not have the capacity to hold the ceremony and reception outdoor. (Jon was supposed to write a guest post on the venue since he liked it soooo much especially for the price.) I had given up on my dream outdoor wedding so I was ready to put in a deposit. For about $10k they were including the ceremony and reception site, 1 hour of hosted hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, salad, entree, and no fee for bringing our own desserts. Thanks to Jonathan's dad who wanted to see the place before we booked it, it bought me time to continue to search and FIND.....

THE SPORTSMEN'S LODGE HOTEL

The Catering Sales Manager from the Event Center did not even mind mentioning that their partner, the hotel, had outdoor reception capability, even after I told her that's what I wanted!!! She wanted to keep the sale to herself!!!

I was able to contact the Catering Coordinator from the Hotel today, visit the venue and LOVED IT. It is everything I want! Outdoor ceremony with a cute white gazebo, a nice white tent to give us shade, and we can have it for longer hours, have a hosted bar for an extra hour longer than at the center, and still have our outside desserts. The best part is that it is still under our $10k budget! (I just need to rent my own chairs because I am picky)

They don't have many pictures of the venue online and I will resist posting the ones I took with my camera today.

The Plan: Pay Deposit on my birthday as my gift to myself!

Bridesmaids Dresses

I've spent most of my day today ripping pages out of my magazine collection to be able to find flowers, dresses, tips, and other pages faster.

I really want to share what I found for the bridesmaids. Since I'm really considering going to a dress maker for convenience, and to avoid an extra trip and fee getting an already made dress altered. I still haven't decided if I want identical dresses for all the bridesmaids or different styles but made in the same fabric and color. I am also still undecided about having junior bridesmaids. Jonathan's cousin has two daughters, but it's going to depend on him if he wants them to come out or not.


Dresses by After Six Dresses, styles 6580, 6579, and 6581. I really really like 6579 the dress in the middle. All three dresses are the same from the waist down, it's just the straps that differ.



This dress I like too because of the detail in the bust area, the ribbon tie, and the summer look of it. It is also in the color I want. This particular dress is called "Corrine" by Jenny Yoo.



These last two clippings caught my eye when flipping through the magazines. The top one is from Alvina Valenta who has tons of cute bridesmaids styles. The one just above is from J.Crew, who also have bride and bridesmaids selections on the websites.

All the links are embedded within each designer's name, right click to open in a new window.

Graduation and NYC

Where do I even start? It has been another roller coaster week for me with a lot of series of events, and wait until the next post to hear about the wedding part of the roller coaster.
Friday June 18th Angel graduated from middle school!!! He is so big now!

Saturday was One Day Sale, and I closed, so I didn't get home until 1am
Sunday I worked an open-to-close shift, and Monday was blahhh
Tuesday I flew out to NYC for my photo shoot! I (along with 12 other successful EDPers) to represent College Relations Programs on brochures, pamphlets, and online!
Tuesday was such a long day though. I left my house at 7am, drove myself to LAX and waited in ridiculous lines. Long Flight. And a two and a half hour cab ride to the city. I didn't get to the hotel until 8pm and in those 13 hours I just had a cookie to eat.


BUT.... NYC was soooo much fun! I could not believe I was there. We walked Time Square, went into Herald Square Macy's, saw the Empire State Building, took the subway to 5th Ave, walked 5th Ave and saw all the shopping boutiques, walked Central Park and even had dessert at Serendipity's.

Thank you Lili for making time to give me a quick but jam-packed tour!

Wednesday I pretty much woke up at 3am our time to get ready and go for my photo shoot across the street from Madison Square Garden. The photo shoot was so much fun!!! I had my hair and make up done. AND I was a pro with my poses, the photographer hardly had to coach me- He said I was a natural!! After the shoot, I walked to Gray's Papaya on 37th and 7th. MMMMmmmmmmm I loved them! That was the only thing I knew I wanted to have (from Fool's Rush In and The Back Up Plan)

On the plane, I sat next to a 12 year old girl who entertained me the whole 6 hours, minus sleeping time. We talked about our trip to NY, her new school, her family, we played Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader on her DS, and talked some more!

Thursday - Sunday Venue Hunting, posting to follow.

Guest Post: Yolanda

Yolanda jump started on the bridesmaids dress search and put together 2 boards to share with details. Below are the slides! If we decide on a dress style that does not come in yellow, we will have to see the seamstress! Picture all these dresses in a bright yellow color and let me know what you think.

Today: Dissapointment, Excitement, Sadness

We woke up early this morning, filled with anxiousness and prepared with my check to see Hotel Menage. When we got there, I was filled with too many confused emotions. I was upset because the Sales Rep was late, but I was able to envision tables set up by the pool and a dance floor. Jon was negative the whole time. He kept bringing up the fact that it's not worth a $4000 fee for the pool area, that 160 people wouldn't fit, where would the ceremony be, etc etc etc. The bar was divided by a fence. The worse part was that behind the wall by the pool, was the 5 freeway, AND IT WAS LOUD. I started to cry. The one place that responded, had decent price points, was outdoors and was not booked, was right next to the 5 freeway with a huge pool in way.


Jonathan could feel my emotion overload and was pretty much prepared for anything. As soon as I said I wished the Westin would have responded, he thought of driving there and seeing the place first hand. We drove for an hour or so, drove in circles until we found a flat rate parking of $10, just to find a $7 flat rate parking lot behind it after we had already paid and parked. I thought I remembered the patio/garden being on top of one of the circular buildings, so I take Jon (who prefers to stay in ground levels) up to the 35th floor in a glass elevator. When we didn't find it, we decided to ask and find out where it was, and when he heard it was on the 4th floor, I thought he was going to kill me with his eyes! (hahaha sorry baby!)

We took a different elevator up this time....
I LOVED IT.

This would be the back drop to the ceremony. With chairs in a semi-circle shape.


This would be our reception. The perimeter would be the tables and the center would be the dance floor. The back part with the stairs and pool would be covered and the skyline would be our backdrop. Amaaaazzzing.

Ahhhhh... Unfortunately they were having a huge conference and no one from banquets or catering had time to see us. I don't even want to know how much it costs. I already know $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I just want it! :(

Good News & Bad News

Two of the venues that I contacted on Tuesday replied back. The good news is that Hotel Menage in Anaheim sounds like they have decent price points, it's large enough for our party and it's outdoors!!! We're going to visit and see the venue on Sunday at 10am, AND I think I'm going with a checkbook.


The bad news, don't really matter now because of the good news, but The Santa Barbara Zoo replied back and the venue is booked and secured with a deposit for our date. Why are a lot of venues already booked??? How much time in advance are women planning their wedding? I started to do some brainstorming before the engagement and I thought I was planning with too much time in advance, but I guess I wasn't planning ahead enough.

I've also decided to throw in a couple of fun touches to the reception so I've started to work on those projects.

Soon to come: Bridesmaids Guest Posts and Mr. Tailgate Guests Posts

Destination Weddings

It is now an option.
Thoughts?
- Prices are more flexible and hopefully it's cheaper
- Destination weddings are more memorable
- You can do activities there with your bridal party and make it fun
- it's Prettier!
- It was one of Jonathan's original ideas, so then I get to have the honeymoon in Greece!

I started doing some quick google searches and found that the Hilton has outdoor seating! My number one problem with California venues. They have room for up to 1100 guest - beat that! They also have special spa and dinner quirks for the couple!

Appointment Goal - Fail

I did tons of research today and focused mainly in Ventura County and Santa Barbara. I wanted to have at least 4 appointments to view venues for this weekend but it didn't happen. No one answered their phone, and the one person who returned my email, sent me information for the wrong venue. I am beginning to feel hopeless, and it's barely the beginning. Should I go with an indoor wedding since the outdoor part of it is becoming the hardest part? Should I change the date since it's going to be too hot? Should I change the date to a Friday? What do I do?! ay ay ay

Venue & House Hunting

So far we have squeezed 2 venues and 2 condos in 2 weekends. While today was my 7th day straight of work, I'm still up and about venue and house hunting in between. Tonight and tomorrow morning I'll be doing a lot more research and try to book at least 4 venue appointments in the Santa Barbara/Ventura County Area for Saturday and hopefully Jon can find us 3-4 condos to see on Sunday.

Today I found these:
Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens
Limoneira Ranch

* Courtesy of Here Comes the Guide

On a side note: my sister brought be a Brides and Modern Bride Magazine and in one of the inserts was an offer for both magazines for the price of one. Mailing that in tomorrow!

Emotion Overload!

I am now pre-qualified for a home!!! As excited as this makes me, it also makes me nervous because I'm not too sure what my next step should be. Should I ask one of my employees who is in real estate? Should I contact the short sale specialist that my friends referred me with? Should I contact an agent from Redfin? When? How long am I pre-qualified for? As soon as I got the phone call this morning, I jumped on Redfin to re-look at our options. I started to question my location: Is Long Beach where I want to live for next 3-4 years? Why? Why not? There are a handful of places that we really like and then we have the places that we like. Several within our budget. I can't wait! I want to move in already!!!!!

AHHHHHH!!!!

On my days off

Today we went to see Coco Palms Restaurant in Pomona.
1. July 23, 2011 is already booked. FML...
2. but it's okay because I really wasn't sold on their venue
3. Their white tile was too white
4. The size of the balconies looked too small
5. The reception would be on a split level - separate balcony... I don't think so
6. Their $7 Chiavari Chairs were 1. silver and 2. plastic
7. They had a ton of fee's for everything
8. They would use up an hour of my reception time to convert the venue
9. Parking seemed to be mainly valet - I don't want to charge my guest to park there
10. There are a million and one things going on at the same time

At least we were able to get mock copies of what a contract would look like, based on a Friday date.

A lot on my plate

We have been doing a lot of house hunting research and a lot of venue hunting research that I just want to rip my hair out (but then I also don't want to be a bald bride, so that can't happen).

This weekend we are viewing the Coco Palms Restaurant, and we are waiting to hear back from Cannons Seafood Grill to make a viewing appointment. We are also planning to drive by some of the neighborhoods in Long Beach and see what we are looking at.

A co-worker suggested the Kellogg House in Pomona, which have great food prices pp but I am dreading the $4000 FEE. YIKES!

A mutual friend of ours recommended The Camarillo Ranch Mansion and after looking at some of her pictures and reading about it, I think we will definitely have to consider it. PLUS it looks like they allow outside catering and we can have the venue for MORE THAN FOUR HOURS!!! Thank you EVELYN!! One of my cousins also sent me a link where I have more options, since I have already worn out and viewed everything on The Knot.

I have also started to reconsider my 5 wedding criteria... aka my MUST HAVES:
1. Outdoor Venue
2. Site must be able to host Ceremony and Reception
3. Costs must be under $55 per person
4. Site must hold minimum 175 people
5. Site must allow amplified music - because we're dancing!

On another wedding topic, my mom's friend knows a seamstress and she can do my dress! All I need to start doing is dress shopping to find out what I like and what I want... and ta-da!

I think on Tuesday we will be submitting some paperwork to find out if we qualify for an EOM under his bank and how much we can get pre-approved for. If we get pre-approved for a small amount, we may have to consider 1 bedrooms OR adding his name to the loan (but increasing our interest rate). From what I'm hearing, I think I would much rather dive into an EOM loan than an FHA loan since we would not have to pay the PMI fee. Especially since we are looking into condos and we would already have to pay an HOA fee.

No pictures for today. I'm too scatterbrained for today's post but I really needed to jot these notes down. A lot of things going on, not enough time.

Venue Research with Evey

Calamigos Ranch

Gorgeous place. Very pretty set ups for outdoor weddings but after seeing their 2011 prices of:
75-150 Guest : $98.50
151-250: $96.50

plus an additional $10 per guest on Saturdays, 18% service and tax and a $1500 rental fee.

NO THANK YOU

Japanese Garden Cal State LB

For 160 guests or less, $4400, Non-refundable deposit of $1100, only available for 4 hours (for wedding and reception), $900 for every additional hour,

already a NO THANK YOU.

Descanso Gardens

Rental fee $5200 for ceremony and reception.
Meals cost between $40-$80
I loved the 360 Virtual Tour, the only I'm afraid of is that it says "Amplified Music: Indoors" dun dun dun. TOO EXPENSIVE WITH THE RENTAL FEES......

Party Rentals: Pico Party Rents

On my days off...

Last Sunday for mother's day I was off and asked my mom if it would be okay with her to go to church in Monrovia to listen to Kiko give the mass. I cannot tell you how impressed I was! The mass was TWO HOURS LONG but it felt like 30 minutes. He was very engaging, funny, and mind captivating - he even made me cry! We went to greet him outside afterward but since every mother wanted a hug from him we decided to just take off and give him a call later. I would love to have him do our ceremony, my only concern would be his English. I know he gives mass in English but my parents think he reads it, I don't mind that, but how is he going to communicate the sermon? We haven't called him yet because we've been ULTRA busy and with Angel getting ready to graduate, my parents leaving to Mexico tomorrow, and me working odd schedules, we just haven't gotten to it.

Today is my day off and I'll be clipping pictures of venues and set ups that I like. My dad's co-worker is supposed to give him contacts but today is already Friday and he leaves to Mexico tomorrow, so we'll see when I get those...

15 Ways We Will Save Money!

1. We designed our monogram
2. We will design our save the dates, invitations, etc. and print them ourselves
3. Our RSVP's will be on postcards to save on postage $.28 (instead of $.44)
postcard must be: rectangular, between 3-4 inches high and 5-6 inches long
4. We are not planning to rent a limousine or a car
5. We will hopefully be married by a priest in the family
6. We are having cupcakes instead of cake
7. Instead of cut floral center pieces, we will probably have potted orchids (also saves time!)
8. Flowers for bouquets will be purchased from the flower mart
9. We are thinking of hooking up our iPod/ laptop to speakers - we'll see about this one
10. Not having open bar - sorry
11. We will hold the ceremony and reception at the same location
12. Probably have buffet instead of sit down meals
13. Jonathan's tux/suit will hopefully be free!
14. My hair and make up will probably be done by one or two of my talented cousins
15. Our parents are resourceful and know how to negotiate!

Bridal Party

How many attendants does a couple usually have? My parents had 4 pairs. I'm thinking we may have 5-6. I still haven't asked everyone, I'm in the process of talking to each one of them individually. My only concern is with the ones who are far away because of their costs to come look for dresses, come for the bachelorette party, come for the bridal party and the wedding weekend.

Who have I spoken to and confirmed as bridesmaids:
1. Evey- she couldn't say no anyway
2. Natali - my soul sister since 2001
3. Yolanda - my hip in college <3
4. Sam - my personal medical adviser :)
5. Isabelle - the one who brings my crazy side out!

One more to go!

Which comes first? The chicken or the egg?

Before we got engaged I couldn't get enough wedding ideas. Now we are engaged and I feel like I don't have time. We first need to focus on looking for a job for Jonathan and second looking at homes. Somehow the wedding became our last priority. I can't wait until we start booking house tours, because looking at homes online is not the same as walking through them.

What concerns me most about the wedding is the venue. Where are we going to hold a wedding for 125-150 guests for under $10,000?

The Perception of Marriage

Why do people think what they think about marriage?
I think there are several avenues that influence our perception of marriage. For instance what we experience growing up with our parents can make you think marriages can last forever OR they can make you think that they are doomed to failure and end in a divorce or worse. There is also the media and reality TV shows like The Bachelor that can sway your thoughts, or even statistics and seeing divorce rates increase throughout the years.

How can you make an informed decision?
Weigh the importance of each. What do you think is more important - personal experience, reality shows and the media, or statistics? My answer: Personal Experience.

Jonathan and I come from families where our parents are still together - over 25 years of being together. Out of my 100 close relatives, I only know of 3 divorces, two of which should have never been marriages to begin with because their values where complete opposite. No one is perfect but I think that when you are dating you get to see the quirks of your significant other. Coming from a neat and clean freak, at first I was afraid by Jonathan's messiness. I could not believe some of the things he did. When I first saw his "room" aka junk yard in college, I was afraid. Two and a half years later, he is still the same - unorganized, messy, and sloppy. Will he change? Probably not. Can I live with it? Oh yes I'm the super cleaner! :)

I'm not saying I am perfect either because I can pretty stubborn and a perfectionist, which is something he has had time to think about if he can put up with forever.

Marriage is a friendship, a partnership, someone to support you, cheer you on (and vice verse), and someone who you can truly be yourself with.

The Proposal

Jonathan and I are ENGAGED!

He proposed this weekend on Friday April 23rd, on our monthaversary! I drove to Jonathan's parents' house on Friday night after work to help paint his new room on Saturday morning. When I arrived at his house it was funny because he was anxious to show me the sample of the paint on the wall. When he opened the door there was a huge sign that read: WILL YOU MARRY ME? in a green-ish paint but I wasn't sure if it was for me or if it was a left over of when his sister's fiancee proposed to his sister hahaha! BUT - when he came in front of me and got down on one knee, I KNEW IT WAS FOR ME! I could not stop smiling. He opened the box and started to say how we are meant to be. He put the ring on my finger and we hugged forever! I called my parents and we went out for drinks to celebrate!

Photography

Today is my day off so I'm going to do a double wammy:)
I've been clicking away since 7:15am this morning since my parents and Angel woke me up and I couldn't fall back asleep.

I started to research photographers in the area since a lot of the blogs I've been reading were featuring photographers from the bay, Utah, Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts, etc. I had recently found Bella Pictures which would amount to about $3200 plus tax and service fees for 8 hours and an album. Studio Blue would offer the same coverage and the album for $2100 plus tax and fees. BUT today I found Rob Greer and his style of photography was 10 times more artistic than Bella and Studio Blue.

(all photographs from above from Rob Greer's Blog)
Rob Greer Photography reminds me of Jonathan Canlas' style, cutting faces off and getting different angels to make the photograph feel more artsy.

P.S. Packages have very decent price points!

Venue Hunting

I have been reading blogs ever since we were planning Karla's wedding and after reading so many of them and reading how they started to venue hunt ever since they were pre-engaged makes me feel NORMAL. Staying within a budget is what the issue is when venue hunting, it takes about a year to plan the wedding details and it looks like it takes even longer if u have to search for the bigger aspects of the wedding like the venue.

There are so many features to keep in mind when venue hunting: indoor or outdoor, garden, yacht, loft, hotel, country club, museum, restaurant, parking available, ceremony site, morning, after noon, evening, all day, outside catering, sit down meals or buffet, alcoholic beverages allowed, round tables, squared tables, rectangular tables, loud music allowed, dance floor, and cost.

Right now, I'm looking at the cost to be my most important factor. I've contacted several more venues and it looks like I'll be doing more research.

-The Long Beach Museum of Art replied back and it turns out my minimum cost would be $20907.83 BUT my budget is $10,300. NO THANK YOU.

-The Oviatt Penthouse also replied and that venue would cost me a set up fee of $5500 which should include all the amenities listed on the website plus $52 pp for food. For a max of 125 I would pay $12,000 plus tax and service charges would put me at about $15,000- which is still outside of my $10,300 budget

- Coco Palm Restaurant

(I found today) has a lot of the features I'm looking for. They also have a very informative website (which is a plus!!!) I haven't even contacted them and I have already been able to make several breakdowns:

Havana Menu (Salad, Main Entrée, Dessert) Dinner $57.95 pp

Buffet – 3 items from each section $46.95 pp

Buffet – 4 items from each section $49.95 pp

Ceremony $8 pp

Cash Bar $150 per bartender

Corking Fee $10 per bottle

Child Entrée $18.95

Cake cutting & plating fee (waived with packages) $1.75 pp

Chiavari Chairs $7 pp

Extra Hours $399 per hour

My costs: for 125 people

Havana Menu, Ceremony, Cash Bar, 5 bottles, Cake, Chairs, Tax, Service Charge: $12,560.89

Buffet 3 items, Ceremony, Cash Bar, 5 bottles, Cake, Chairs, Tax, Service Charge: $10,750.01

Buffet 4 items, Ceremony, Cash Bar, 5 bottles, Cake, Chairs, Tax, Service Charge: $11,243.89

I think we may have a leader: It has outdoor venues, parking, we can have the ceremony there, alcoholic beverages are allowed, loud music is allowed, they have a dance floor, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY it is very close to my budget!