Whoa Nelly

The last 5 days have been a blur. In the short of it, Michael is no longer employed and has decided to enroll in college full-time (yay!) For economical reasons, we just put our house on the market today. We're going to move into an apartment closer to Albany as soon as possible. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Luckily most of the wedding planning is complete. Here are some of the things left: invitations, entertainment/music, shoes, beauty, and hotel accommodations for the guests. I know there's more. Here are 2 fairly affordable invitations from the website InvitationConsultants.com that I like:

$194 for 100

$217 for 100

Honeymoon Airfare: √ (check) !

Our plane tickets have been purchased - there's no turning back now (without substantial fees, of course). Michael and I are going to Belize for 12 days, 11 nights for our Honeymoon. We opted to pay a little more for airlines that can get us to and from Belize within 1 travel day. We're flying out of Albany and must make 2 stops each way: Chicago and Houston down, Houston and D.C. back. Our destination city is Belize City on the Caribbean coast of Belize. The capital of Belize is Belmopan. We have some time now to think about which cities and attractions we would like to visit before we reserve accommodations. The airlines we chose are United and Taca Airlines. Continental Airlines would have been about $95 less per ticket, but we would have a long, overnight layover somewhere in which we would either have to sleep in the airport or get a hotel room. So, convenience and timeliness beat cost this time. We're leaving for our Honeymoon 2 days after the wedding and returning just in time for Columbus Day Weekend. We'll each be taking 2 weeks off of work. Belize is going to be awesome!

Somebody To Marry Us: √ (check) !

This is a big one. After months of thinking and consideration, we choose an affordable option. A "Marriage Officer" from the Town of Colonie will be marrying us for a reasonable $75 fee. So many of the Officiants I contacted wanted to charge hundreds of dollars for customized ceremonies. Mike and I want a short, civil ceremony. We couldn't justify the expense for an online Minister or 'professional' Officiant. I tried contacting the Town of Durham Judges to inquire if one of them could marry us (since it's Mike's hometown) - but I was ignored (from my resident Town, great.) I called the Town of Colonie Justice Department and was informed that the Judge who performs wedding ceremonies will only do so in the actual Courthouse. However, it was at this point I was told about the "Marriage Officers" that the Town has employed. I was put in contact with one and the rest is history. He has already emailed me a pdf of the ceremony. I think it's perfect. We can add, modify, or delete parts of it if we want to. He will wear a black robe during the ceremony.

Cake: √ (check) !

This weekend's double cake-tasting ended well with a cake design/decision and bakery booking. Michael and I started at J & S Watkins on Route 9 in Clifton Park. We had a 10 AM appointment with the cake-maker. She was very informative and professional. We left with a "sample cake", which was a box with a slice of every cake flavor they offer. Mike and I already knew we wanted carrot cake, but then we started considering having more than one flavor to offer our guests. We brought the "sample" cake to my Parents' house and tried the carrot cake with cream cheese filling and white cake with lemon filling with my Mom. Yummy. Then all three of us went to Coccadott's on Central Ave. in Albany for an 11:30 AM appointment. We tasted their carrot cake and lemon cake. We were able to try both butter cream frosting and fondant. (Fondant isn't that bad folks, it's marshmallowy) Their lemon cake was awesome! It had a raspberry filling and was so flavorful. After some discussion on the price and the details, we decided to go with them. We found both bakeries to be pretty similar in their pricing. Here is our final decision:

A 4-tier, hexagon cake, bottom two layers carrot cake with cream cheese filling, top two layers lemon cake with raspberry filling, entire cake frosted in butter cream, smoothed out, beaded frosting around the base of each tier, periwinkle frosting scrolling decoration banded around each tier, room on the top for the cake topper that our florist, DK, will be providing, made to match the wedding flowers. Yay!

Flower Girl No. 2: √ (check) !

Adelaide, daughter of Bridesmaid Lydia will be Flower Girl No. 2. Adelaide is another little girl who has kept no secret in her desire to play the role. She gladly accepted and immediately retrieved her old, white shoes from the closet to see if they still fit. She was the Flower Girl for her Mother's wedding a few years ago. Adelaide and Flower Girl No. 1, Rebecca, will make terrific Flower Girls. They are the same age.

Simple Wedding Bands

$240
$600
$245

$175

Dinnerware Find

I found 2 more dinnerware sets that each fall into my interest categories. This is by notNeutral and is called "Season" and is made of porcelain. The designer offers registries from the website and they have several other things things for the home.

This is CB2's "Morocco" pattern. CB2 is Crate & Barrel's modern, more affordable version. Maybe I'm being too modern...

Dinnerware Comparison

My latest Internet obsession distraction is dinnerware. I plan on registering... somewhere. My Fiancé doesn't share my advocacy of registries. He has warily given me sole decision-making authority in our registry since he wants to remain in opposition to its existence. I've begun browsing dinnerware online. I figure I'll start with dinnerware and choose a place to register based on that decision. I've looked at the the following websites: Crate & Barrel, Macy's, Sears, Kohl's, Pottery Barn, Pier 1 Imports, Target, Boscov's, JCPenney, West Elm, Walmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Have I missed anyplace that I should consider?

There are two dinnerware 'themes' I've been drawn to so far: a natural tree/branch design and a sort of damask design. I've found a high end and low end version of each. Check it out:

The set on the left is Porcel's Tree Porcelain Dinnerware 5 Piece Place Setting costing $95. The set on the right is Target's Autumn Branch 16 Piece Dinnerware Set for $54. BIG price difference.

Here's another:

The set on the left is Target's Medallion 16 Piece Dinnerware Set for $45. The set on the right is Lenox's Batik 4 Piece Dinnerware Set costing $100. Again, BIG price difference. I understand that the materials and quality make all the difference, but still...

There is a 12 place set of family china that my Mother and Aunt split but are considering passing down to me. It is Syracuse China's "Beverly":
So, the other dinnerware I'm going to register for would essentially be for everyday use. How many casual place settings should one register for?

Roberto Coin

Roberto Coin Stack Rings