CT and Bridal Party

It seems I've fallen off the blogging wagon again.  I blame my busy schedule. 

No excuses.  Now I'm back. 

Last weekend Ben and I traveled up to CT. to visit Will and Debbie.  After a very long drive on Friday, we arrived to their new house.  Saturday we woke up, received the tour of New Haven, ate some wonderful Mexican food, played lots of Rock Band, and just hung out.  We had a lot of fun.  Oh and we had a blast playing with their puppy, Lucy.  I want a puppy!

Dear Benjamin - if you're reading this, reminder, I want a puppy.   

It was also really excited because we were able to ask both Will and Debbie to be in our wedding.  Will is going to be Ben's Best Man, and Debbie will be one of my bridesmaids.  Now that I've asked them all, I can officially announce them on this blog :-)

Matron of Honor:
 Julie Sharkey (my sister)

Bridesmaids
Jane Harries (sorority sister and best friend)
Angie Cipparone (best friend from home)
Angelique Goldenberg (sorority sister)
Debbie Bryant (future sister-in-law)

Yay for wedding party!!

Jane has a blog!!

In honor of Jane starting her own blog here, I'm going to complete her survey :-)


Hi, my name is: Anna

Never in my life have I been: to Europe.  Hopefully that changes one day soon :-)

The one person who can drive me nuts is: like I'd reveal that someplace public like this

High school: absolutely ridiculous, but did a lot to prepare me for the real world

When I’m nervous: twirl my hair

The last song I listened to was: hmm not sure.  Whatever was the last thing on the radio last night

If I were to get married right now my best man/maid of honor: umm, I am getting married (see blog title).  And its my sister. 

My hair is: my most favorite and least favorite thing about me

When I was 5: I was in kindergarten

Last Christmas: it was really cute to watch my little niece and nephew open their Christmas presents

I should be..: at home making dinner

When I look down I see: a mess of papers

The happiest recent event was: hmm, I'm gonna go with New Year's Eve - for obvious reasons

If I were a character on ‘Friends’ I’d be: not sure...?

By this time next year: I will be 18 days away from getting married!!  I'll probably be running around like crazy.

My current gripe is: I'm hungry

I have a hard time understanding: quantum physics

There’s this girl I know that: finally joined the blog trend

I like you when: i can just relax and have fun around you

If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: Ben/my parents/jane

Take my advice: live. laugh. love. <3

ok...now it's your turn!

Disney!

Happy Easter, everyone!!  I hope you had a great holiday weekend; I know I did!

Thursday night I flew to Orlando, FL to spend Easter with my family (Mom, Dad, Jimmy, Julie, her husband and their two kids).  Turns out it was a perfect time to go - weather was perfect and the lines weren’t bad either.

Friday, the family went to Magic Kingdom.  First stop – DUMBO.  When I went to Disney when I was four, I made my sister wait on line for THREE HOURS to go on Dumbo.  Luckily the wait wasn’t as long this time around; Shannon and I only had to wait about 15 minutes for our turn to take to the skies via a flying elephant.  It was really cute, and I was very happy that I got to share my favorite kiddie ride with her.  After Dumbo we made our way around the park until it was kiddie naptime.  Dad and I stayed for a bit and got on a few additional rides before heading back to the hotel. 

That night Dad and I went to my favorite park – Disney Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM).  I was amazed at the lack of lines.  We got to go on almost everything we wanted in just three hours.  And that includes the hour long line at Rockin Roller Coaster.  Man I love that ride – an awesome roller coaster with awesome Aerosmith music.   

Saturday some of the adults went to Epcot and then Hollywood Studios.  Epcot was probably the most crowded park we went to.  We skipped a couple rides because the waits were just too long. Saturday evening, we had a character dinner with Cinderella and her family.  The characters were really spot on.  It was great.  Of course Shannon did very little talking when the characters got to our table, and she completely turned her back on Prince Charming.  After dinner, we headed back to Magic Kingdom for one more night of kiddie ride magic. 

While I only had two days in the resort, I managed to visited thee of the four parks (and I’m OK missing out on Animal Kingdom) and get on almost every ride I wanted.  The kids were so much fun to watch and I really had a blast.  I really liked being able to see the park from a different perspective. 

Food

btw - two postings in one week.  I'm surprised/shocked/proud of myself

Wedding planning is moving forward.  While we have not made a decision about the church, we talked about it and we have a game plan.  sorta.  Don't ask.

But, we did make some progress with menu.  In planning this wedding, I've determined I have no idea how to plan a menu.  I mean, for the first 22 years of my life planning a menu revolved around finding the 5 (generally white in color) things that I ate and making a meal out of it.  Now I'm trying to create a classy, tasteful meal for people's whose tastebuds are more experienced than my own.   I want to enjoy my wedding dinner, so I tend to pick things I like.  But at the same time I think I have mashed potatoes and asparagus all the time.  Do I really want it at my wedding?  Shouldn't it be something more special?

So here is my first call for advice:  how do I plan a nice, classy meal that is special, but still caters to my and my guests' taste? 

Meet the Parents

What a whirlwind of a weekend.

After being super super busy at work on Friday, I headed back to my apartment to pick up my luggage and headed to the airport for Tim and Nancy come to Charleston Weekend.

I left my apartment and headed to the airport. My apartment door to my gate= 20 minutes. I kid you not. 20 minutes. I was shocked. But that bit of information is more me bragging than really relevant to my weekend.

Arrived in Charleston late late Friday night and headed directly to bed. I had a big weekend ahead of me.

Saturday morning, Ben, Momma B, Poppa B and I drove into Charleston to meet my parents at their hotel downtown. I have to say, it was BEAUTIFUL in Charleston.

After dropping off my parents car, and quickly introducing the two families, we climbed into the van that Ben's parents so nicely rented so we could travel together. First stop: Hibernian Hall.

Well, my parents seemed to love the reception hall. My Dad twitched a bit (it hosted the Democratic convention back in the 1800s), but ultimately came around to like the place. They both thought it was lovely and were happy with Ben and my decision. Yay, I'm glad they liked it.

After Hibernian, we traveled to look at one of the churches Ben and I are considering for the ceremony.  After looking at the church, Ben's parents gave us a quick tour of Charleston and we grabbed lunch down by the marina. 

Then we loaded back into the van and traveled out to Middleton Place, the location for the Rehearsal Dinner.  I'm really excited how pretty the location is going to be next April when all the flowers are in bloom.  We also realized that since the dinner is after the garden's hours, we will have the whole garden to ourselves.

We then headed back to Ben's parents for dinner.  We had some awesome guac (thanks Ben) and Mrs. B. made a fabulous dinner of shrimp and grits, chicken, roasted potatoes, tomato betty and string beans.  The two families really seemed to get along and I think everyone had a great time.

The next morning my parents and I visited two additional churches for the ceremony, and then attended mass at the cathedral downtown.  After mass is started to pour, so we headed back up to Myrtle Beach to visit my aunt and uncle. We spent the next day or so relaxing and catching up.  My aunt and uncle gave us a beautiful cake knife and server!  Its pretty and its got pearls.  What more can a girl ask for?


Well, now I'm back in DC.  Can't say my parents had the same fortune.  Their flight got canceled last night, and they are stuck in Myrtle Beach until Wednesday.  Gee what a terrible place to be stuck.  Enjoy the extended vaca Mom and Dad!

Dresses and Dresses and Dresses

So last weekend, I officially ordered my dress!! I'm not going to put pictures up - I'd like it to be a surprise (oh and Ben's not allowed to see it ;-) ) Just know that its really pretty and very Anna.

I was pretty shocked how quickly I found it. It was at the very first place I went to look. Three weeks ago I went home to Jersey and visited a dress store in my hometown (Tesi). I fell in love with two dresses there. The following week I went home again and visited a second dress shop, Wedding Bells. I found myself comparing every dress I tried on at Wedding Bells to the two I had fallen in love with at Tesi. We went back to Tesi the next day and once I tried it on again; I just knew I had found my dress!

Last weekend when Jane was in town we started to look at bridesmaid dresses. Hey, I had one in town; I had to take advantage of that. We found two dresses that we liked. I really liked one because it would coordinate with my dress really well. Not completely sold on it yet, but I think I'm starting to form an idea of what the bridesmaid dresses will look like.

WE BOOKED A VENUE!

Ok, I really need to get better at this blogging thing.

So I guess it was about a week ago, I'm walking into the elevator of my building talking on the phone when I notice a beep through from my soon-to-be mother in law. Weird I think; Why is she calling me? Mental note: Call Mrs. B as soon as you get into the apartment.

I walk into the apartment still chatting away and Ben's on the phone with his mom. He hangs up and looks at me chatting away. "We have something we need to deal with right now."

Someone approached Hibernian Hall wanted to reserve the space for April 30, 2011. They were giving us until noon the next day to either book to location or give it up to the other couple.

But...but... my parents haven't seen it yet. I didn't really like the hall at first, but we have chalked it up to the terrible tour person who didn't even turn on the lights. But then I found beautiful pictures of weddings there and got my hopes up. But I don't know if I'm ready to make a decision. BUT MY PARENTS HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET!

About a 1,000 phone calls and tons of tears stemming from my inability to make a decision, Ben and I went to bed with no decision. But we did have a list of questions to ask the hall when we call in the morning.

And the next morning, at about 11:00am we decided to pull the trigger - we reserved the space! They are sending the contract to us to sign. We will have our beautiful reception at Hibernian Hall in downtown Charleston. YAY!

Once we booked the space, a wave of calm came over me. Definitely made the right decision. I was so happy it was done. YAY WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A RECEPTION.

Centerpiece ideas have been floating in my head ever since. But that's another blog posting.