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.