I now pronounce you....

The great thing about breaks and wedding planning, is that you can get a lot of things done!  Lots of checks off of the list!  So, I am about 80% done with addressing the invitations at this point, which is awesome.  I will be sending them out at the end of the month - Emily told me that if you mail them out too early, people might put off responding for a long time.  So, I don't want that!  They are already addressed and stamped, so just pop 'em in the mail, people!

Our officiant - Brian (center)

Last night we also started working on writing or outlining our wedding ceremony.  Because it is a non-religious ceremony, and because we want this wedding to be unique to us, we knew that we wanted a friend to marry us and that we wanted to write the ceremony ourselves.  I think that we will mostly put together a strong outline, so that our officiant (and wonderful friend Brian) can fill in the blanks.  We don't want to be too intimately familiar with the words that will be said, otherwise they won't seem as special!  Here are some words that are serving as inspiration so far...



Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!


You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.


Oh! The Places You’ll Go!


You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. 
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. 


Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. 
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.


You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. 
You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. 
So be sure when you step. 
Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. 
And never mix up your right foot with your left.


And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)


Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

Grujii's Workshop

Mike and I spent a good part of the day working on our invitations.  I had a great group of friends over a few weeks ago, and so we were just continuing on their good start!

We found this beautiful Japanese hand crafted paper, and we are putting together a little reminder of our website.  So, we had to spend time measuring them (Well, Mike did that), and cutting them (okay, Mike did that too)!  But I put the tape on!  We also did some embossing - all around a very productive day!

We also started addressing them, which is really exciting!  I can't wait for our special day to be here!  Here are some pictures from our hard work!

Embossing tools!

Embossing stamp!

Mine was the most important job, if you ask me :)

Had to be exact-o...

The finished product!

Taiko helped too!!

Dressed to Impress!

Yahoo! That is all I have to say after my 2nd dress fitting yesterday. I didn't blog about my first fitting, because, to be honest, it was a bit anticlimactic.

When I first tried on my dress, I of course, tried on the sample. It was definitely too snug, but they took my measurements, and I left feeling like we were good to go. Until my dress came. It was clearly meant for an amazon woman. It was really, really long, too big EVERYWHERE, and the top was about 6 inches out from my chest. I felt like I was swimming in it. I couldn't even get excited, because I seriously couldn't envision what it was supposed to look like. I mean, I knew it was my dress. I wasn't like one of those brides on "Say Yes to the Dress" who is convinced that the wrong dress was shipped to them. I knew it was mine, I just also knew that it was for a WNBA star.

So, this second fitting I decided to not have anybody else there besides my mom and sister. I didn't want anybody to see it until it was right. I don't know why - it doesn't really make a ton of sense to me at this moment. But I just knew that I would be putting pressure on myself if my wonderful friends were there.

I was really, really anxious going there because of my experience the last time. I knew that it was going to fit differently, but I just didn't know how. I was so anxious and on edge from a rough day of school that I hadn't eaten all day! This fitting was at the seamstress' shop, and so the atmosphere was a bit different - more business, less fou fou. She brought my dress out of the back, and after some "brasierre" discussions, we were off. I put the dress on, and zipped it up. It seemed to be quite a bit more snug. But in a good way! The seamstress put some boning in the top, so that the top went towards and not away like it was doing before. She had taken it in and up about 6 inches. It looked soooo much better!

We played a bit with the bustle, and she ended up taking a bit more from the front, because it was still a bit too long, and I don't want to be tripping on the way down the aisle! Plus, I had my newly purchased hair piece in also, so I got the full effect!!

This week I am on spring break, so I am going to get to addressing my invitations! My mom is doing my shower invitations soon, and I am super excited to see those (and to not have the responsibility of addressing them :) )

Another Cute Website

Okay, it's no secret that I love love LOVE cupcakes! Here is a fun cupcakes only blog!! Yummmmm!

Click Here for Cupcake Cuteness!

Cool Website!

My friend Kelly, from high school, just linked me into this super cute website http://www.thewhitepetal.com/ - lots of great ideas!

Ring a Ding Ding!

I also forgot another accomplishment that we can tick off the list! Last weekend we found Mike's wedding ring, and are awaiting its arrival in the next few weeks. This past week, we also found my wedding band. While I had hoped to have a ring made from my Grandmother's diamonds, they were all different sizes and nothing really worked together. So I started to look for something already made.

We went back to our favorite spot for wedding items; yes, Costco. And we found the perfect ring and it should be here tomorrow!!

Wardrobe? Complete!

The last four days have resulted in some more wedding accomplishments!

Thursday I went in for my first dress fitting! It was great to see my beautiful dress, all for me! My friends Emily and Monica were there, as well as my mom and sister. It was a bit anti-climactic, as the dress was really, really big, and I couldn't really envision how it would look when it is actually fitted to me. I know it will be better the next time, but I wanted to have a better vision of what it would look like! I did find a head piece for the big day though, so that was exciting.

A more challenging task has proven to be finding the perfect shoes. I went to Nordies the day before the big fitting, hoping to be divinely inspired by a gorgeous pair of shoes that screamed, "Dum Dum Dum Dummmmmm" But instead, I was underwhelmed with mediocrity. I loveloveLOVE shoes, and I am, honestly, a bit saddened that I can't adorn my feet with a gorgeous pair of dainty high heels. But we are getting married on a lawn, and that just wouldn't be practical. Plus, given my amazing coordination skills, 20$ says I would be laid out flat on my face 1/3 of the way down the isle. (This may happen anyway, but flats lesson my chances). So I decided to go with sandals/flats. I found 2 pairs of sandals that I liked, one in lime green (one of our wedding colors) and one in purple (the other wedding color). Then, I found a sequin adorned pair of converse in pink. I bought all 3. Showed them to Mike who was obviously underwhelmed as well...so, back to square one! I definitely will no be settling for a lame pair of shoes. Yes, I know that nobody really sees them. Do I care? No. I need to know that my feet are dressed just as well as the rest of me!

Friday my girlfriends came over for a night of invitation stuffing awesomeness. We had

quite the assembly line going. One of us stuffed the RSVPs, one of us stamped, one sprinkled

embossing powder, one blew the embossing powder dry, and then we stuffed it all together! Now I have to start addressing them. I want to take them in small batches and then mail them out at the beginning of May.

We headed up to Truckee this weekend for a whirlwind trip for snowboarding and dad-visiting. On our way, we stopped at the Tommy Bahama outlet in Vacaville. We have been looking for this specific color silk shirt for our wonderful groomsman - one that we saw last summer and haven't seen since! The TB store here in San Jose suggested that we try the outlet store because they often have more colors, and, they are cheaper! Yes please! So, we went there Saturday and worked with a super helpful and friendly woman who helped us get all of our shirts lined up. We brought home 6 of the 8 plus a shirt for each of our dads (same shirt, different color from the groomsmen). Really excited to have that done, and looking forward to see how handsome they all look!

We are still working on folding the 1,000 oragami cranes, and thanks to our wonderful family, we are making a lot of progress! Mike's cousin Ginger has turned in 300, his aunt has 200, my dad is making 200 as well (5 a day - plus he's discovered a method to make it more efficient!). Now, to figure out what to do with all of them!

Checkity Check Check Check!

We have made some major strides in our wedding planning the last few days - thank goodness! To be honest, some things were really starting to stress me out!

The most stressful thing, as I have previously blogged about, was our honeymoon. I felt like we kept on getting excited about a place, only to find out that 1) We ran a 90% chance of running head-on into a natural disaster 2) it was going to be FREAKING HOT or 3) it was WAY out of our price range. We started out our honeymoon quest wanting to go to somewhere like New Zealand. Great idea! Ya. July = winter in New Zealand. Out. Fiji. Too expensive. Greek islands, ditto.

So, we decided to enlist the help of a travel agent we found on Yelp. She helped us put together a few packages, and then we she realized what a pain in the ass we were, she enlisted back up from another agent. We were really excited after our initial phone call with this new agent, because she seemed to understand what we wanted, and thought we had a lot of latitude with our budget. She turned us on to the idea of Puerto Rico (have to admit that whenever I hear that I always think of West Side Story .... such a nerd. I blame my dad for introducing me to that musical :) ) She talked to us about the phosphorescent pools and the zip lining, and it just sounded exactly like what we wanted. So, we waited, and she sends us something that is totally in our budget. Then, I looked closer. It was totally within our budget, but only included the hotel and the flight! What!? No food. No transfer from the airport. No excursions (such as the phosphorescent pools or zip lining). Uh, what do you hear when I say budget, travel agent lady? Anyway, we tried not to feel dejected for too long, and went with a place that is always trustworthy, and never lets us down. A place where you can get anything from frozen chicken breasts to car batteries. Engagement rings to tire rotations. That's right people: we went to Costco.

We started scanning their packages, and found a lot of cool options in parts of the Caribbean that aren't ridden with natural disasters. Our interest was piqued and so we continued our investigation. We found that the Dominican Republic had a lot of really nice all inclusive resorts and lots of fun activities (golf, cigar factories, rum distilleries, zip lining) We were quickly falling in love with the place. When we started to look at some of the resorts, we were sold.

We will be staying at the Majestic Elegance Resort in Punta Cana, DR. An amazing resort, where we will be enjoying a swim up room with an outdoor bed and private jacuzzi, all inclusive amenities, VIP service and lots of relaxation. (we also put ourselves in the "adults only" section so we won't be disturbed by the chorus of voices of vacationing children...) Check out the hotel link below.

Awesome Resort

So, that was one huge checkity check check CHECK off the list! That was on our way to San Fran this morning, where we continued the quest for Mike's wedding band.

For those of you who don't know, searching for a band for a man is a difficult task. Most men don't wear a whole heck of a lot of jewelry, and so having a ring on their finger is a new, and strange feeling. For this reason, we haven't had a whole lotta luck in this department. We knew he wanted a more low key metal (such as titanium or palladium) though at one point in our search he was pretty much sold on a platinum band at Tiffanys. For a while, he was trying to convince me that he needed not one, but TWO wedding bands. One for every day, and one "blinged out" option that was for fancier occasions. No I am not joking and yes this is the man I want to marry. He just cracks me up. Lucikly he moved on from that relatively quickly.

Today, my MOH and one of Mike's groomsmen (who is coincidentally married to my MOH) took us to Union Street in the city, where a large collection of jewelry stores are located. We went to 3 jewelry stores, and each was a very unique experience. I should also say, that I am looking to have a wedding band made from some of my Grandma Charlotte's old rings. We were very close, and she has passed away, and so I wanted to have her be a part of my day somehow. So the first place, Mike found a few rings he liked, but nothing he was super excited about. So, I asked about my dream ring, and was quickly shot down by the "charming" clerk, who essentially told me that what I wanted would look terrible with my ring, and then suggested that I just stick a few of the diamonds from my Grandma's ring onto my engagement ring! Uh, NO WAY! We moved on.

The next place was actually where Em and Nick got Nick's ring. We liked a few of their things, but the one Mike liked best was going to be too high maintenance, as the finish would rub off and continually have to be revamped. They gave me a lot of suggestions at this place regarding the possibilities I had with my diamonds. My dream ring wasn't really a possibility, but they had a lot of ideas. I left my rings there to be evaluated and so that they could measure all of the stones, and then we moved on again.

The third try was a success. Mike found 3 rings that he liked and they definitely all suited him well. He eventually went with a brushed palladium band - very plain and timeless. We put the deposit down today, and will return in about 2 weeks to pick it up! I am so excited that he found something that he loves!

Also, my dress arrived on Thursday of last week, and I will be returning to the store for my first try on this Thursday! I can't wait to see my beautiful dress again. I am currently on the hunt for my jewelry (I want antique/vintage looking stones) and a hair piece (I am looking for white feathers, instead of a veil). Hopefully these things will magically fall into my lap!

Next on the list is to finalize our rehearsal dinner site, but that feels like cake now that we have so many things accomplished.

Stay tuned!

And They're In!

The invites came in Wednesday, and even though they were delivered to my school (somebody had to be there to sign for them)...I managed to not open them! I waited until Mike got home, and let him do the honors. They are awesome and so worth all of the revisions and changes that we made! Can't wait for the big day that they announce!

>>>Even the box is pretty :)

Mike didn't let me see them for a full minute or so - payback is nasty people. You can see the glee in his eyes...

He finally let me see them...took his sweet time...

Hooray! That's us! Hope to see you there!

Vote for the Grujiis!

We entered this fun contest today! It's kind of a pain because you have to register to vote, but please do!

http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/21289

Please Mr. Postman!

Most of our save the dates went off like a rocket in the mail yesterday! (We are waiting for Jack & Sandy to get home from Vietnam tomorrow for a few more addresses) My TA stuffed and labled them, and though I have to say - things weren't quite as straight as I would have liked....they are still on their way to you!

Can't wait to hear what you think!

Got in Trouble...

So, today, a very very very exciting package was sitting on the front porch. I peeked at the end, and what did I see? Oh our very wonderful Save the Date goodies, designed by our great friend Jen! I was so excited! I could barely wait long enough to take Taiko on a potty break! I ran upstairs and ripped open the package - primarily to see if the things would fit in the envelopes that we are sending our save the date cards in. (Probably should have checked that before we ordered, by the way...) I tried to pull the one off of the side, but I was too impatient and tore into the box. Inside were two neat stacks of our goodies! So exciting!

I took some time to put them around the house so that Mike would be really excited and be in the wedding spirit....well. That. Didn't. Happen.

I gchatted Mike that we had gotten our goodies and that they were "AWESOME." His response was not what I expected. "You opened them? Without me? Again?" (I forgot to mention that I also opened our Save the Date announcements before he got home... He was not as excited as I had anticipated... :( I am in a bit of trouble, but the bright side is that they are going out this week!

I feel a bit like Monica, from friends. There is an episode after she and Chandler get married. She comes home to a house full of gifts. Chandler is out with Ross recreating their wedding pictures because he thinks that he lost the disposable cameras (his only "task" for the wedding day.) Monica can't help herself and opens all of the gifts before Chandler gets home! (my theory is that there is a Friends/Sex in the City/ or Seinfeld reference for everything!!)

I need to remember to pull back and not be selfish and open things on my own - it is me and MIKE's day and I need to remember that! Excitement just takes over - but I have to refrain! I'll update next week to tell you if I am able to do this or not...invitations ship on Monday!

To Honeymoon or Not?

Wedding plans are coming right along - I haven't been able to stop planning! I enjoy it very much, and I relish in the opportunity to be able to orchestrate such a great day of celebration for everyone! I have my TA stuffing Save the Dates (STD's ...) today and tomorrow - goodies for those come in Thursday, and then they are off like a prom dress! I can't wait for you all to see them - they are super simple. NOt like something is going to jump out of the envelope dancing or anything, but a lot of love went into them!

What is proving to be a bit of a challenge is the honeymoon. It's no honeymoon :) We really want to take advantage of this celebration and take a unique and special trip to start our lives together - one that we might not do again in this lifetime. However, do we want to be paying for this trip for a lifetime? Yikes! It's expensive to go on a trip of a lifetime! We are registering for our honeymoon trip, because we really don't need much in the way of typical registry items. But still, it's a bit stressful! We have a few plans in motion right now, researching Fiji, NZ and the Cook Islands. Hopefully we will be able to figure out an amazing place that won't bring us home to stress!

We'll keep you in the loop, but how cool does this place look!?

Awesome Resort

In production!

Yahoo! Our invites are in production! Can't wait to see them live and in person! Thank goodness Mike suggested that I double check the address - I originally had 3796 and it was supposed to be 3786! Phew! Here's a super sneaky peek!

Invitations!

Together with their families

Stephanie Griesmer and Michael Fujii

Invite you to celebrate their wedding on

The Seventeenth of July, Two Thousand and Ten

At Five o' Clock p.m.

Bella Montagna

3796 Quimby Road

San Jose

Adult reception to follow.

There are so many ways to say this - but luckily Mike and I agreed on what would be just right for us!! We get proofs of the invites in 3 days!!

Invitations!

Together with their families

Stephanie Griesmer and Michael Fujii

Invite you to celebrate their wedding on

The Seventeenth of July, Two Thousand and Ten

At Five o' Clock p.m.

Bella Montagna

3796 Quimby Road

San Jose

Adult reception to follow.

There are so many ways to say this - but luckily Mike and I agreed on what would be just right for us!! We get proofs of the invites in 3 days!!

We Have the MOST Amazing Friends

We are truly just so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people. We always have been, but since we have been engaged, it is so great to have people ready to celebrate with us and help us make this next phase of our lives really special.

Our friend Jen designed our Save the Date goodies, and while I will let you wait and see the awesomeness in completion when you get them in the mail, I will give you a sneak peek. (See above, duh!)

Website!

Also, don't forget to check out our ever changing website! Lots of info!

Can't Stop Till You Get Enough!

I thought I would put wedding planning aside for a while after the action packed Christmas break. But I have found that that is not really possible to do! Hopefully in the next 2 weeks, we will be able to have things cool off. Until then, this is what is in the works!

We are looking at a contract for an awesome guitar player to play during the ceremony. He has a really great repertoire, and will learn 2 specialty songs for the ceremony as well. Check out his site and you can hear some of his work. I am so excited about this part - I have seriously wanted to have acoustic guitar at my wedding since I was in high school! I love love love it!

www.johnchapmanguitarist.com

Our wonderful friend Jen is working on our Save the date goodies - we got one part in the mail and she is graciously helping with the other part! She sent us the first draft and we are making a few adjustments, and get another draft this weekend! It's so great to have such awesome friends. Love you girl!!! We are also looking at stamp options - so weird the stuff you think about. I mean, honestly, nobody really cares about the stamp. Or do they? My dad probably will take notice - he's into stamps. And I remember the stamps Em and Nick had on their invitations. So maybe it is worth looking into....just a little bit though. I'm not trying to get stamp fever or anything.

We have sent in contracts to all of the hotels that we are using for the weekend - so people can start booking those rooms! We reserved space at 3 hotels and are hoping that people find one that suits them. We also hope lots of people book at the Valencia because if we get a certain number of nights booked, then our honeymoon suite is free! Yayayaya!

I have also decided to treat myself to a Personal trainer at my gym. Mike and recently re-joined and they offer you one free session. I really liked this guys style (Mike didn't though. Thought his pants were too tight. And SMALL!) I had my second session with him tonight, and I am really looking forward to it! I just want to feel good and confident on our wedding day. I am not trying to lose a bunch of weight or anything. I still want to look like me. Just buffer.

It seems like every day we are getting something new in the mail. This week we got part of our Save the Date stuff, and an invitation sample and a new camera that we bought as an early wedding present to each other. It's kind of exciting to get stuff besides bills in the mail!

We have decided on invitations - I won't tell you if they are from the first round or the second. But they are AWESOME. Very simple. Very "us" - cheese and all! I sent in the contract for those tonight, and am looking forward to seeing our names on them! I can see it now....Together with their families, Mike and Stephanie ask you for the honor of your presence as they celebrate their MARRIAGE!! (can I put in fine print - "It's about freaking time?" or would that be tacky?)

Guitar player

Save the dates

Hotels

Dress - called

Personal trainer