Luke and Laura Wedding Extravaganza 2006!

5 days left!

2006-08-21T15:12:00.000-04:00

It's Monday. Wedding on Saturday. Relatives start arriving tomorrow. Noona's already here and we spent today in Scaginaw spending more money. When we got home, Mom and Noona got their dresses fitted (their dresses look awesome, by the way).

I just spent 2 hours curling ribbons for ribbon wands pencils. People are supposed to wave them after we get married, instead of throwing birdseed or blowing bubbles. I thought it was an awesome idea. At least, I did until I started curling ribbons and tying them to the ends of pencils. Now, I think it's still a good idea, but it would've been better if I had just bought the expensive ribbon wands from the Schminternet instead of making them.

People keep asking me if I'm excited yet.

The answer: Nope, not excited yet. I probably won't be excited until Stink Pants gets here, or at least until all this random wedding stuff is done. I still need to make place card holders, assign people to tables, and pack my stuff for the honeymoon and the big move. I also need to make sure the flowers are ready, the cake will be there on time, the DJ knows what songs to play and the caterer for the rehearsal dinner has food for us on Friday.

I think it's good I went through this whole wedding planning process, in case I ever need to coordinate a huge party in the future, but I'll be really glad when this is all over. Really, really glad.

Tomorrow, I need to go to the reception venue and pick up the sketch of the tables so I can figure out where people are sitting. I also need to pick up a unity candle, a garter or two, and a bible for our bible bearer. People say to be careful of having children in weddings, because they are a possible cause of catastrophe. I think it'll be fun having children in our wedding. Not only are children super cute, but the atomsphere will convey a sense of danger and nigh-eminent disaster! Exciting!

Plus, if the kiddies do something really cute, we can send the video to America's Funniest Home Videos (yes, that show is still on as far as I know) and hopefully exploit their exploits for cash!

I probably oughta head to bed. I've got a busy week ahead of me.

P.S. Yesterday was Mom's birthday! Hurray Mom! Happy Birthday!!!!

9 days left! I need some cheap labor!

2006-08-17T19:22:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!

So there's only nine days left and our house has been taken over by wedding stuff. Granted, some of the stuff is stuff we had already. A lot of the stuff is gifts from friends and family. Bunches of stuff is stuff that needs to be assembled into wedding favors/cake boxes/wedding programs/whatever else needs to be put together for the wedding.

Not only is there stuff that needs to be assembled for the wedding, but there's also the boxes that all that stuff came in. I mentioned before that I ordered a lot of stuff for the wedding from the Schminternet. It's just easier! I look it up online, happy internet magic happens, and it appears at my front door in a box! We're lucky these boxes aren't rabbits, because if they were, Mom's garden would be chow. Luckily, I'll need those boxes for my mom to send my personal stuff to Stink Pants and I after I move out to the West Coast.

Nine days left.

A lot of stuff is done. I've contacted all the main people I think I need to contact, reception area lady, cake guy, priest, etc etc. It still feels like there's so much left to do, and a little more than a week left to do it. Nine days and our lives will change forever (Sorry for being a little dramatic. I've been watching a lot of reality tv lately).

The Search for Church Music or Bell Taco Bell

2006-08-13T22:39:00.000-04:00

I know. Most people have their church music picked out months before the wedding actual event.

I was so good at being organized; I really was.

Anyway, last week, I met with my pianist Steven and my cousin Andrew to talk about music. You know, our processional, recessional, etc.

In almost every movie I see, if there's a wedding the processional is almost always Pachelbel's Canon in D. Because of that, I have come to hate that song. Well, not hate, but greatly dislike.

Of course, when I brought the subject of music up to Stink Pants, he suggested Pachelbel's Canon in D.

Luckily, Stink Pants has been saying yes to everything I want, so we're not having the ol' PCD at our wedding. He did find this little gem while looking for music though.

Please enjoy Taco Bell's Canon in D.

20 days and counting

2006-08-06T12:19:00.000-04:00

Only 20 more days till we get married!

Things have entered the do whatever Laura says or get yelled at phase.

Now I wouldn't say she's a bridezilla yet, but she's at least a brideosaurus, maybe even a Brideosaurus Rex.

It's shaping up to be a kick ass event. Good job Laura :)

A Towering Creme-ferno

2006-08-04T15:39:00.000-04:00

One thing went my way the other day. Early in our engagement, I saw an episode of A Wedding Story where the wedding cake was a croquembouche (or croquembuche). I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to find a bakery that does that sort of thing, but Zehnder's was kind enough to take on the challenge! We had a meeting the other day to go over the particulars of the cake.

I get to have two croquembouches at my wedding! It's not gonna be enough for everyone though, because they'll be hollow, but there'll be extras in the back. They have to stay in the back anyway so the creme puffs will be properly chilled before they're served.

Everyone gets three creme puffs, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, and ice cream! I got to try one of each flavor when I was there, and they are delicious. I was so happy when I was eating them, you guys have no idea. I think the best part is the caramelized sugar on the bottom. "Croquembouche" means "crack in mouth" and the sugar disk on the bottom of the creme puff literally cracks in your mouth when you bite into it. At the risk of sounding like an Iron Chef judge, the crack when you bite into it is surprising and exciting! Really! And it's delicious!

I oughta stop. I might talk up the cake too much and I don't want people to be disappointed when they try it, because ~~it really, truly is delicious~~ it's okay.

Spreadsheets = Easy Organization for me!

2006-08-03T12:16:00.000-04:00

I used to hate the sight of a spreadsheet. No really. In college, I almost never used them because sitting in front of a moniter with a spreadsheet on the screen was like looking in a box that sucks out your soul. Boxes and formulas and graphs... yuck.

Then I got engaged!

Planning a wedding means lots of things to lots of people. For me, it means actually being organized. All those who know me know I am not the neatest or most organized person in the world. I'm not even the most organized person in my house.

One of the things that I absolutely have to do is keep track of my guests.

Enter spreadsheet. (Exit night, take my hand... it's off to super spreadsheet land.)

If I didn't have this computer and the spreadsheet, I don't know how I'd keep track of everything. I've got everyone's names and addresses (listed alphabetically), whether they responded (send your responses back!), what they're eating, as well as the totals of each type of meal we'll need. I've also got lists of gifts and whether I've sent thank-yous or not.

Just for fun and because it only took me about three minutes to make, here's a chart of everyone's meal choices so far. Team Bavarian Combo is winning. Bavarian Combo in first place with 66, Chicken is second with 49. Cod and Vegetarian Pasta are in a distant 3rd and 4th (12 and 9 respectively). Oh yeah, and 1 Vegan Meal.

Take that Mac commercial guy!

Clicky clicky, bigger piccy!

Wedding Shower Madness

2006-07-31T22:50:00.000-04:00

Excitement and heartache! Ups and downs! It was the circus that was...

My wedding shower! Dunh dunh dunnhhh!

It actually started the day before when I hijacked one of my bridesmaids, Anne, to come with me to the D-town area to meet with our wedding photographer. We had to go some time that week because the shower was on Saturday, and I really wanted to have the proof book of Stink Pants' and my engagement pictures to pass around to the shower guests. Plus, on the way back up, we needed to stop at the airport to pick up Noona! Hurray Noona!

The day started just fine. Anne and I made it to the photographer's place with a minimal amount of gippies (Gippy: noun coined by my dad. A word for turning around when you make a wrong turn). Halfway through the meeting, my phone rings. It's Noona, but I don't answer because I don't want to be rude to the photographer and I figure it can wait until after we finish.

After an hour and a half, Anne and I walk back into the heat of Friday afternoon and get some lunch. Meanwhile I take the time to call Noona.

--------------------------------------------
Laura: Hey Noona! Sorry I missed your call.

Noona: Hey. I'm not coming.

Laura: What?! Why?

Noona: My flight was cancelled because of weather. (Laura looks around in the scorching heat at the cloudless sky).

Laura: Awwwww! No!

Noona: And I can't get on any other flights because they're all booked. I could try to come tomorrow, but the plane will arrive at 4:18 in the afternoon and I'll have to leave on Sunday anyway.

Laura: Here, let me call Mom and have her call the travel agent lady. Maybe she can come up with a way.

Noona: So, should I stay here at the airport?

Laura: Yeah, I'll have Mom call you.
--------------------------------------------

So, I call Mom. Mom calls travel agent lady, and I continue driving to the mall, where Anne and I are supposed to pick up some extra wedding favors (and do a little shopping in the process).

Later, Mom calls back. There's no way Noona can come to the shower... unless she spends $1000+, stays for six or eight hours, then flies back. Wahhh! No Noona! Laura = Sad!

The rest of the day continues without any major hang-ups. Anne and I go shopping, I buy some nice high-heeled sandals (on sale, of course), and we have sushi for dinner. Other than a bit of traffic and a little melancholy while we pass the airport, everything goes according to plan.

Fast forward to Saturday, the day of the shower. It is HOT! We probably should've just cooked our food on the pavement, since it would save money and cooking in the house only made it hot there too. Mom was up early cooking and setting stuff up with her crew of homies (special thanks goes out to Ninang, Marietta, and Shirley. The food was delicious!). I talked to Noona for another hour while I was deciding what to wear, then I was sent to the grocery store for potato salad and various other random stuff (including 20 bags of ice).

At quarter to four our first guests arrived. Mom was still in her working clothes and only half my ponytail was curled. So, we greeted our guests and promptly disappeared to finish getting ready. By four o'clock, guests were streaming into the house and Mom and I were running around trying to get the outdoors ready so we could move everyone to the garden (there's more room there). It's about 5:15 or so before everyone can grab food and start eating. Meanwhile, I shanghaied Anne and my friend from college, Kristin, to run some games for me. I was planning on talking about the games with Noona but... Wahhh! No Noona!

The games I picked our were mainly sit-down, writing-type games. I figured it might be hard for some of our guests to do physical games, and it was just so dang hot! It's a good thing Kristin and Anne were there, because there's no way I could've done the game thing by myself, and Mom had her hands full just trying to get chairs and food for everyone.

Just as the games were finishing, clouds rolled over the sky and rain started falling. Most people made it inside the garage without getting too damp (my mom was not one of those people). There, surrounded by all the lovely people that care about me, I opened presents! (Thanks again to Anne and Kristin for writing the list of gifts down and rewrapping everything after I opened it.) I got lots of kitchen stuff and some censored (in case Stink Pants is reading this). After presents, our guests left with flowers and scented soap! It was all done by 8:00, but those four hours... actually the whole day just flew by! I went out for kareoke with my friend Jennifer after I had some time to recouperate from the day's festivities.

Mom and I spent all of Sunday sleeping. All of it.

Hotels and stuff!

2006-07-25T18:13:00.001-04:00

Here's some helpful information for our out-of-towner guests. Let me know if you have any questions!

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Lodging and Accommodations
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Drury Inn & Suites in Frankenmuth

Stink Pants #5 and I have 25 rooms reserved there for our wedding guests (not sure how many are left though). It is about four blocks away from the reception area. They offer all sorts of special services, including free high-speed internet, free evening beverages and snacks, and a free hot breakfast (including sausages and eggs!). The address and phone number is listed on their website. Prices are around $80 and $120 for rooms and suites, not including tax. Suites can sleep as many as six people.

There are more lodging places here at the Frankenmuth business directory, but I don't have much information about them.

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Attractions and Points of Interest
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Bronners - A Christmas Wonderland!: It's Christmas there 361 days out of the year.

A-Maze-N Mirrors: Located at the Riverwalk Place. Stink Pants and I have been there, it's pretty fun :)

Michigan's Own Military & Space Museum: I've never actually been inside, but that plane and tank are hard to miss.

Zeilinger Wool Co.: It's just down the street from the military museum, but they dont' have a website. It's a good place to go if you want to find some raw wool, dyed wool, stuffing for comforters or anything wool-related.

St. Julian Winery: Located in downtown Frankenmuth, it has tours, wine tasting rooms, and winemaking supplies.

You can find more attractions here. :)

Oops! Oh well! My dad and Christopher can be twins!

2006-07-20T15:21:00.000-04:00

The process of putting together Stink Pants' and my wedding is probably quite different from how most of our friends have gotten married. Stink Pants' lives across the country from me. No worries, we've figured out ways to deal with it. We do lots of things by mail and email. We have to. Our invitations, the groomsmen's attire, my shoes, our cake topper, some of our wedding favors - all ordered through the Schminternet. We communicate with our wedding party through emails and cell phone.

Definitely, ours is a wedding of the times!

Anyway, I ordered my dad's, my Tito Jesse's and my cousin Christopher's barong tagalogs from the Schminternet (here). Imagine my surprise when my Dad's barong tagalog and my cousin's barong tagalog have the same embroidery design. Oops! I looked on my copy of the order and yup... I did that myself. I didn't double check to see if theirs were different, I just ordered the barong tagalogs that would fit them.

Eh, I'm not worried. I doubt my dad will even notice that his and Christopher's are the same. Even if they do notice, hopefully they won't mind :)

Sorry Dad and Christopher!

Luke and Laura Musical Reception Review!

2006-07-15T22:17:00.000-04:00

Here's a list of songs we want at our reception (in no particular order). I think it's easier to read if I split them into groups of five.

Adieu - Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts
Safety Dance - Men Without Hats
Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money
The Animal Crossing Theme - Some Nintendo song writer guy*
Flying Teacups - Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts

The Midnight Sun - Diana Krall
Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
Minnie May - "Gunsmith Cats" Soundtrack
Butterfly - Aqua
Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles

If I Didn't Care - The Ink Spots
Rocket Man - Elton John
Don't Change Your Plans - Ben Folds Five
Separate Ways - Journey
Paradise by the Dashboard Light - Meatloaf

Jackson Cannery - Ben Folds Five
Dragostea din Tei - O-Zone (The Numa Numa Dance song)
Big Shot - Billy Joel
What's Up - 4 Non Blondes
Theme from Katamari Damacy - I don't know who wrote this

Walk Like an Egyptian - The Bangles
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Zoot Suit Riot - Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Beer Barrel Polka - Andrews Sisters
You and Me and the Bottle Makes Three - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Mr. Pinstripe Suit - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Hemisphere - Yoko Kanno
Call Me - Yoko Kanno and the Seat Belts
Nature Boy - Nat King Cole
Lady Marmalade - Patti LaBelle

Mr. Roboto - Styx
Witchcraft - Frank Sinatra
What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

That's it for now! I'll add more as they come :)

*I didn't think I'd be able to find the Animal Crossing Song, but here it is! It's in midi format, but that's better than nothing! Click on "title2.mid" The title.mid is okay, but the second one is better.
The Midi Shrine

Why register for that? Why not!

2006-07-08T20:25:00.000-04:00

As I was walking through Bed Bath and Beyond with my blinky scanner machine and my incomplete gift registry in my hand, I thought to myself... do I really need a new clock?

Apparently I do, because I registered for one.

According to the super nice wedding registry helper lady at B3 (much nicer than the lady at Marshall Fields, by far) a couple must register for 2-3 gifts per guest. For us, if we go buy the number of people invited (so far) that's 716-1074 gifts.

I can't come up with 716 gifts to register for. I don't think our registry even touches the 200-mark. Maybe if you took everything separately, but 700+ is still a lot o'stuff.

As I was walking through the store, I was overwhelmed. The lady said not to be afraid to register for things like lamps and bathroom accessories, but I don't even know how the place we'll be living in the future will look like. What if the lamps are too big? Or too small? What if I register for a huge bathmat and it turns out we live in a place with a super tiny bathroom? Registering for stuff is complicated! Should we register for another tea set?! We already have two!!! But we really like tea!!!!! Wahhhh!!!!!!!

I was extremely excited to register for some things though... like the salad spinner! I couldn't stop playing with it in the store, and I have no idea why (I guess I like watching it spin. Maybe I should get a top instead). Of course, I had to bleep some salad bowls to go with it! Then, I was walking around the cutting board area and saw this giant, round butcher block! It was insanely heavy, but still super awesome! So of course, I registered for that too. I'm also a big fan of crystal too! It's shiny and transparent, like my diamond (when it's clean).

I think Stink Pants was more excited about registering for bedding stuff... meh.

49 days left... Eeep!

Driving Directions!

2006-07-07T23:20:00.000-04:00

On the big day, here's how to get where you're going.

To the Church!

From I-75 take EXIT 151 M-81 toward Reese/Caro. Stay on this road through Reese. You'll know Caro is coming up when the road starts to curve (it's about 30 miles or so).

Go past the first light in Caro and turn LEFT onto Hooper.

The church is on the right at the corner of Hooper and Frank St.

**Click here for MapQuest directions to the church! (I couldn't get MapQuest to make directions from the I-75, so I did the next best thing and got directions from the gas station at that exit... If someone has a better idea, let me know!)

To the Reception from the Church!

Turn LEFT onto Hooper from the church parking lot. Head back to M-81.

Turn RIGHT onto M-81 and head outta town. It's about 9 miles

Turn LEFT onto Vassar Rd. Drive 3 miles to M-46, there's a blinky light at that corner and an orchard on the left.

Turn RIGHT onto M-46 Drive about 8 miles until you reach a stop light (the non-blinky kind). You'll go through a four way stop with a red blinky light in Richville. Just go straight. The next turn (with the non-blinky light) is at the intersection M-46 and M-83.

Turn Left onto M-83 and drive on into Frankenmuth. The reception is at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant on the left. There's a covered bridge that leads to the Bavarian Inn Lodge just past it, and a light on that corner.

**Click here for a MapQuest directions to the reception!

Wedding Registry Information

2006-07-05T00:38:00.000-04:00

Hey friends and family!

Here are all the places Lucas and I are registered at. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me here or email me!

Bed Bath and Beyond
Cutco Knives
Marshall Fields I think they're moving to Macys.com though. Not sure

Thanks for celebrating our big day with us!

Edit: Marshall Fields is moving to Macys.com. It won't be effective until July 30th, 2006 though. *sigh* They can't just make things easier for me, can they?

Fourth of July Wedding Weekend

2006-07-04T20:58:00.000-04:00

Stink Pants #5 was here this weekend. Holy crap did we have a ton of stuff to do.

He arrived on Saturday, after flying all night on the red-eye from California. Bleary-eyed and sleepy, we drove back home and had a quick lunch before taking a four-hour nap. Later, we ate dinner and watched "The One-Armed Swordsman" a Shaw Brothers movie. Little did I know that this would be our least busiest day.

We started Sunday out with a marriage prep class with the priest. According to the test we took, Stink Pants and I are pretty compatible. It turns out I'm marrying someone who's a lot like me. Not sure if that's good or bad, but I'll be spending the next 50+ years finding out.

After that, we went to Saginaw and registered for dozens and dozens of things. I'll make a new post with the websites of all the places we registered, and link to it from the main page. Who knew how hard it would be to pick out casual dishware? One thing I felt a little guilty about registering for was the $200 rice cooker. Then again, the rice cooker we have now is my second college rice cooker (the first one mysteriously stopped working) and I think we eat enough rice that the thing will pay for itself in CRC (Crappy Rice Cooker) units in no time.

On Monday, we met with the florist and got our engagement photos taken (yes, more than a year than when we got engaged). For our flowers, we're going with blue and white boquets with blue hydrangeas and white I-haven't-actually-decided-what-flowers-yet (probably roses or lillies). The flower girls are having baskets. I'm going to make them ribbon wands too :) (shhh... they dont know that yet...)

As for the engagement photos, we arrived in Pontiac (where the photographer is) at 7:00 pm for our sunset photos. You may be wondering why the photographer is located in Pontiac. Well, I wanted to have the guy who has been my and my sister's photographer since we were little do my and Stink Pants' wedding photos. The problem is he doesn't do weddings anymore. Booo! He recommended the guy from Pontiac though. As it turns out, this guy is not only a good photographer, he's a good story teller too, and he finds real joy in his work.

I'll post some of the photos here after I get them back. I hope they turn out nice. I had to lay in some clover for some of them, and perch atop some rickety rocks in others.

On Tuesday, after taking Stink Pants back to the airport (wahhh!) I stopped off at Bed, Bath and Beyond and registered for yet more stuff. I met another bride-to-be there and we happily beeped about the store, registering for goodness knows what. I also stopped at Michael's and got some wedding shower invitations.

This weekend was full of wedding planning time. Not much Stink Pants and Laura time :(

Two months to go, man... two months to go and getting shorter by the moment.

Invitation Wave is coming!

2006-06-26T14:51:00.000-04:00

Most of my invitations have finally been sent out. It's a veritable tsunami of paper and card stock.

Invitations have been sent to more than 300 people.

Granted, a lot of those people will not be able to attend. We sent invitations to a lot of my family in the Philippines and other countries. For example, Hoochie Momma is in France (although it would be really awesome if she and her family could come.) Stink Pants' also has a lot of relatives that may not be able to make the drive from across the Great Lake for various reasons.

Still, there are a lot of people I would've liked to invite but can't yet until I get some definite "I can't come" responses. Among the people in the second tier of our wedding invitations are a lot of our college friends. Please, please understand, it's not because I don't want you to be there! It's just that I'm not made of gold bullion (or more correctly... my dad's not made of gold bullion).

Here are some pictures of my invitation assembly line.

I've taken over the dining room table.

Calligraphy! I had to search all over town only to find a calligraphy marker in Rite Aid. Guess they stock more than drugs and party snacks there.

Pretty seal! Almost done!

To the mailbox with ye!

The Post Office

2006-06-12T15:49:00.000-04:00

I just spent $103 on postage for invitations. I didn't even buy enough. I'll need more, but I figured that would be enough to start out. Sheesh.

What's nice though, the post office now offers wedding stamps. They're purple and greenish. Pretty! Much nicer than those plain American flag stamps. Did you know it costs $0.63 to send out a wedding invitation! Dang those heavy inserts and fancy cards! It's a good thing I love my invitations, or I'd be a little more bitter about it.

When I went to the post office earlier, I thought I would get everything done in one shot and apply for a new passport. I had my application all filled out and my passport photos cut to precision! I was so prepared! Or so I thought.... There I stood, beaming, ready to have one more thing done for the wedding, and the lady asked if I had my birth certificate.

Doh!

I knew I needed it. I also knew exactly where it was. It was sitting at home in drawer. So now I need to make another trip back to the post office.

Will it ever end?

Girls with Flowers!

2006-06-07T13:47:00.000-04:00

Do you guys have any idea how hard it is to get two little girls who are a couple hundred miles apart to agree on a dress?

It ain't easy

... but it's possible

Here's the flowergirl dress in all its glory! It's called Pearl Ballerina and you can find it at The Ballerina Collection.

It took a couple emails, some visits, and a game of hide-and-seek, but at least the choice is made. If it had been up to Mom or Stink Pants though, they'd be wearing something completely different :). Guess it's a good thing I asked.

I want my flowergirls to feel like princesses, so I plan on getting crowns and wand/scepters for them too :)

I'm so excited for them! The cuteness quotient of my wedding is going up!

Should I wear a Barong Tagalog?

2006-05-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

I've been getting some questions from my family and friends about whether the guys should wear barong tagolog to our wedding or not. (I also posted this on my regular blog)

First of all, I suppose I oughta explain what a barong tagalog is. It the formal attire for men in the Philippines. Traditionally, a barong tagalog is worn untucked, with black pants and a white shirt underneath (they're kind of see-through). There is a female version of the barong tagalog too. It's just more fitted and all around more girly looking. The ones I've seen have bell sleeves.

Here's what the wiki has to say about barong tagalog.
Here's another place you can go for barong information.

Should our guests wear barong tagalog? Well, it's up to you. Wear whatever you are comfortable in. The barong tagalogs that we've found on the Schminternet can cost anywhere from $60 to $100, depending on how fancy you plan on looking. Stink Pants #5, the groomsmen and the bearer-kin will be wearing barong tagalog. It was Stink Pants' idea. Not only is he paying homage to my cultural heritage, but he also doesn't want to rent a tux or wear a suit on a potentially hot day. My dad and my godfather will be wearing barong too.

As I said before, barong tagalog is appreciated but not required. If you do decide to buy a barong, here are some websites you can get them from.

www.mybarong.com

www.barongsrus.com

I humbly request that you don't get what Stink Pants and the rest of the bridal party are wearing :)

Stink Pants' white jusi barong tagalog

Groomsmen cream jusi barong tagalog

Ring bearer, Coin bearer and Bible bearer cream jusi barong tagalog

The U.S. Postal service loves me!

2006-05-25T22:13:00.000-04:00

Okay, so the USPS may not really love me, but I got two packages in the mail!

The first one contained the groomsmens' formal attire: Barong tagalogs from MyBarong.com! Mom and I couldn't help but open them. They all look good, and the ones for the boys (Stink Pant's nephews) are extremely cute and tiny (like they're for babies! Babies!)

The other package contains my invitations! This means I actually have something to do tomorrow! I need to get my act together and start calling people for addresses and maybe even find a fancy pen or a stamp to pretty up the envelopes. I also need to stop by the post office and get some wedding stamps.

I know the wedding is only 3 months away, but it didn't really seem like I was actually getting married until just this past month. My wedding dress came in, the guys' formal dress shirts have arrived, the invitations are actually here! It's weird. This day is going to be the biggest day of my life to date, and the closer we get to the day, the more real it is, you know? I just hope the whole thing comes together :)

Next things on the list: Address invitations, buy stamps, figure out what dresses the flower girls are going to wear. I want the girls to have dresses that they really like, so I might have two girls in pink, mostly because I know that pink is their favorite color :)

Bridesmaid's Dress is Now! (but they probably won't be delivered until the beginning of August)

2006-05-09T01:16:00.000-04:00

Here's the final pick on the bridesmaid dresses. Click here to get the details from the Jasmine website.

Let me tell ya, it wasn't easy trying to pick out a dress that hopefully looks good on six very different girls. All my girlfriends are very different from each other. I think the only thing that they have in common is that they all like me :). Oh yeah! And they all have supreme senses of humor (they have to, to be around me. I never take stuff seriously.)

To be honest this was my first choice...

but I think I may have been the only one who liked it. Although I did joke about not caring in the least what my bridesmaids thought of the dress, I really do want the girls to wear something they'll like and look good in. That, and this dress was twenty dollars more expensive.

This wedding is coming together, piece by piece. I still need some invitations and I need to get back in touch with the reception area, cake, and florist ladies.

Random Wedding Advertisement Comments

2006-04-14T05:55:00.000-04:00

All right, so I'm tired of the wedding ad comments in my previous posts. Obviously, people want to sell diamond rings and wedding dresses and they want to use my wholesome wedding extravaganza blog to do it.

I don't think so!

So I've had to add that word verification thingy to my comments. Take that random advertisment leavers!

I ain't yo bitch!

Yet another Bridal Boutique Visit

2006-02-25T18:21:00.000-05:00

Today, Mom and I went to "the oldest bridal salon in Michigan" to continue the search for my perfect bridal gown.

First of all, to the many brides-to-be who may or may not be reading this blog:

When you try on wedding dresses, make sure your underwear is not on inside-out.

It's not anything terrible. The world won't end if you happen to have your underwear inside-out when you try on dresses. However, you'll feel less trashy if you are wearing your panties correctly.

So anyway, we went to this bridal salon, and of course, there were a ton of dresses there. Not too many that I couldn't wade my way through them though. I managed to pick out four dresses that I thought were okay.

I looked at them in the light and on my body, and I still wasn't pleased. After searching here and there and around the square, I think I'll go back to my roots and back to one of the first dresses I tried on at the bridal boutique in my home town. Mom and I are going to go there on Monday to have one last look.

In the meantime, enjoy the dresses that didn't quite make the cut :D

Looking for wedding invitations

2006-01-31T16:16:00.000-05:00

Was shopping around today for wedding invitations. I found these in particular. I'm NOT going to get them, but I thought they somewhat reflected Stink Pants' and my healthy appreciation of technology.

Love Connection

Magical Moments Bridal Show!

2006-01-08T17:51:00.000-05:00

Today, Mom and I went to a bridal show that the local bridal shop puts on every year. $3.00 at the door and we were set to walk around the K of C Hall with abandon. There weren't a lot of vendors there, only three DJ's, two or three caterers and two photographers. I was surprised at the number of vendors there that I wouldn't have immediately associated with the wedding experience, although their presence did make sense when I thought about it. Who thinks of a carriage ride or a make-up party when they plan their wedding? Yet there they were, So-and-So's Carriage Rides and Mary Kay. Needless to say, the lines at their booths weren't that long.

We got some information about the vendors there, but Mom was uber pleased at seeing that we could probably have the rehearsal dinner at the caterer's place here in town. We couldn't think of a nearby place for that right off, since no one wants to go to Big Boy for their rehearsal dinner, and the other "fancy" (well, compared to the other places around here) restaurant only had seating for 30 people. When we counted it up, including dates for the maids and groomsmen, family for the flowergirls and bearers, and whoever else is hanging around our house at the time, the magic number was 50 to 60 people! Eeek!

It should be all set though. We just have to make sure the place is available for the rehearsal dinner, but to do that, we have to find out what time rehearsal is at the church.

Planning, planning.

I've actually started actively looking for bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses. Shouldn't be too long before I have a dress picked out for me and the girls. That should be good, because I'm actually getting stuff done, and I think Patlick might have a heart attack if I wait any longer :D.

They had a fashion show at the bridal show. It was funny, because that's probably the only time you'll see models that are not as petite as models usually go. They have to be that way, because the dresses they order for the bridal shop are always big. As the seamstress said, "You can always go smaller, but you can't go bigger." There was one girl who literally had to squeeze into one of the dresses. Granted, it made her waist look smaller, but her pudge was spilling out over the top of the dress! Not pretty. If that ever happens to me, someone let me know, because I don't want to be that top heavy. Another lady had a dress that had a V-neck in the front and the back. Her back pudge had to be squeezed into the dress though, because she had back cleavage! Her back cleavage matched her front cleavage. I was disturbed. I suppose I shouldn't be, but I couldn't help it. Women are not supposed to have back cleavage!

Our experience at the bridal show ended on a high note when I won one of the door prizes! $25 off an accessory at the bridal shop! Ch-ching! Now I just have to figure out what to spend it on.

Expect more posts, there's more stuff to do with the wedding only eight months away. Yay!

Stink Pants #5 has moved to L.A.

2005-10-10T13:45:00.000-04:00

To see the whole story, head to my other blog.

In a nutshell:

Stink Pants #5 got a new job in L.A.

He's moved there with all his stuff and his first day of work is today!

He has forbidden me from calling him at his place of work.

I'll probably leave him alone for the most part, but I'll break that rule when I deem necessary.

I hope he's happy.

What's another two thousand miles?

2005-08-10T22:38:00.000-04:00

If you read my other blog, you'll know that I, Laura, am going to Oregon for a couple months. If you know me and my fiance, Luke, you'll know that right now, we live about 500 miles apart (494.4 to be exact.)

Needless to say, we don't see each other that much.

So what effect will my moving to Oregon have on our relationship? Hopefully, not much.

Right now, we only see each other once a month, so what's another couple thousand miles? At least if we take a plane to see each other, we won't have to pay attention to the road, it'll probably take the same amount of time and money (since gas prices were $2.50 today!) and we'll get served at least one free drink on the way!

I'll still see him for Thanksgiving. It's my turn at his house according to our deal, and he'll be at my house for Christmas.

As for the wedding plans, I haven't made any new plans. So that's that. I'll wait until I get back from Oregon (some time in December) to actually make some final plans. I'm hoping that while I'm away I'll have time to look for invitations and bridesmaids dresses and such.

Hurray for updates!

The Wedding Dress Quest

2005-07-15T00:29:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, my mom and I went to our local wedding boutique to check out dresses. I didn't see any that I particularly loved but I did get some ideas of what I might like to wear for my special day. I had Mom take some pictures, that's why they're all lopsided.

Click on the picture if you want to see it up close! (Once you see the bigger version, put your mouse over the picture and it should turn into a magnifying glass with a plus sign on it. Click again and it'll be even bigger.)

Oh yeah! Sorry about the bra straps. I forgot to wear a strapless bra.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This dress is one of the first ones I tried on. It's a mock two-piece. I like how the dress is cut at the neckline, but it looked a little too much like a regular prom dress to me. You can't tell in the picture, but it's actually an ivory or cream color. The ladies in the store assured me that it could come in any shade of white though. Plus, it's a little too plain. It's simple, but too simple for me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This one is a little more poofier, I like the tulle on the outside of the skirt with the embroidery, but I thought this dress made me look more like a flower girl than a bride. The top part of the dress was a little too plain, but I did like how the skirt is attached to the bodice.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I really loved the beading on this dress. I was so frickin' sparkly! The top is almost perfect, especially the heart neckline at the top. The problem is that it's a two piece dress and it's not poofy at the bottom. I didn't really feel like a bride when I was wearing it. I felt more like I should be going to a ball with a bunch of royals at it, you know? Eh. I liked the top :-).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This one is the closest to what I want, but it's still not there. The skirt is awesomely poofy. My waist looks extremely tiny just before the skirt poofs out. I really like the beading and embroidery at the bottom. The bodice was nice, the lace at the bottom of the bodice tended to flip up a little though, and the neck line was too pointy for my taste. I'll have to keep this one in mind. Oh, and it wasn't sparkly enough :-D.

So those are the dresses I've tried so far. What do you guys think?

Answer me these question three, errr five

2005-06-19T20:11:00.000-04:00

Since Laura loves it when I post to the wedding blog I decided I'd post the answers to the question game from
candysecrets.blogspot.com

Here are The Official Interview Game Rules:
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions (in my comments) - each person's will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

So here we go:

If you had a ball of clay in your hands right now (any size) what would you sculpt and why?

I would sculpt me sculpting a ball of clay into me, because it's delightfully recursive and satiates my massive ego.

What would your dream job be (if you could do *anything*)?
Get paid for doing whatever I felt like at the moment which would mostly be nothing.

How many children do you want?
At least 2 no more than 20.

What do you think about the Kabbalah?
An esoteric and extremely dense text? BOOOOORRRING

What are you most afraid of?
(if you say "Laura," I will kill you.)

That Laura won't think this posting is good enough, and that she will kill me :)

f(engaged) = one year!

2005-06-13T17:07:00.000-04:00

Stink Pants and I have been engaged one whole year (as of June 12, 2005). What does this mean? Not much. Our plans haven't changed a lot. We still have the church and reception hall booked, but not anything else. We did try to reserve a block of rooms at the hotel close to the reception area, but they only take reservations eleven months in advance. Since it won't be eleven months until September, our hands are tied there too.

It's been a year. I bet planning this wedding will be a slide down a slippery slope once we start getting down to business. :-)

Credit Card Shuffle

2005-04-18T00:26:00.000-04:00

I read in a wedding magazine that it would be a good idea to get a joint credit card that gains airline miles and cashback rewards since we'll have to spend money on expensive stuff anyway (dress, flowers, tuxedo, honeymoon, general crap).

What to do? There are dozens of credit cards out there that offer cashback rewards and airline miles. That's not the only thing to consider though. There's the annual fee, APR, not to mention the mileage rates for the dollars you spend.

Stink Pants doesn't even want to get one though. Blah. We're going to get airline tickets to visit Noona and Wonka in New York and that alone would give us about 600 miles.

I think I have him convinced though. I found one with a low APR and no annual fee. The only problem is we won't be able to start redeeming miles until we spend $25,000. That won't be for two or three years, but after we gain that many, we can go anywhere for $400. That's better than other places which advertise $100 for spending $8,000. So for $400, we'd have to spend $32,000. With how much I would love to spend on the wedding (a bajillion dollars) and how much we're actually going to spend ($10,000-$15,000 tops), we'll be well on our way to cashback rewards. I think...I'll have to study up a little more to be sure.

and stuff.

2005-03-31T02:29:00.000-05:00

You know what I don't like? Talking about my personal life at work. People are always asking me about the wedding, new plans and crap. There aren't any new plans! Stop asking me! Blah!!!!

I suppose I'm a little touchy about this, but I don't like having to pour out my wedding (or lack of wedding) planning every time some stranger or semi-stranger walks in the door. It doesn't help that my co-workers mention it every chance they get. Maybe they don't have anything more interesting to talk about. (Actually they do, but I think they like putting me on the spot, which I really don't appreciate. If any of them happen to be reading this now, please don't ask me about my wedding anymore. If I have something new to talk about, I'll let you know.)

I hate having to repeat myself, and I hate it even more when I have to repeat myself to several different people in a week.

I don't mind telling my friends about my wedding plans. That's different. My friends are my friends and since I don't get to see a lot of them often, I like sharing what (if anything) is new in my life. However, to be constantly asked over and over again about something which I have made clear that I won't be doing anything about for a while is tiring. Plus, I like my privacy and I like being discreet when in a professional setting. (My personal life is personal, you know?)

It's just something that has irked me lately. Blah. Now that I've ranted a little, I feel better. :-)

Post for the sake of posting

2005-03-07T22:43:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since anyone has said anything so I decided to say something.

There is nothing new to report

That is all. No new plans, no new developments, no nothing.

I saw Stink Pants #5 this weekend for the play. We spent most of our time watching movies, when we weren't with family or sleeping. I think it was a weekend well spent. Of course, I treasure the times we spend cuddling on the couch in the middle of the night with a good movie.

It's these times that I'll always treasure, because it may not be the same when we're married and together all the time. It'll still be special, but it just won't be the same. The place that we're at in our lives right now is different than any other place we were or will be later. There's just something... significant about that.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it's those absences between the times you see each other that really kill.

Announcement

2005-01-30T14:34:00.000-05:00

Hi everybody, I promised Laura that I would post something so that strangers won't think she's marrying a robot.

So if you came from Laura's other blog you may be wondering what the super delicious surprise is.

Put very simply, I've decided that I'm going to take her last name.

Let the speculation begin!

lukeandlaura Searching Fun!

2005-01-18T01:03:00.000-05:00

Well, I was bored today, so I decided to search Google to see what types of websites have the name lukeandlaura on them.

First, is this ice dancing couple. They're not us.
(Keep the dream alive, Luke and Laura. If Jamaican bobsledders can make it to the Olympics, so can Mexican ice dancers.)

Then, there's this girl and her cat. They're also not us.
(At first I thought Luke was that cat, but it turns out Luke is this guy.)

The rest of them refer to Luke and Laura from General Hospital: here, here and here.
(That last one is the best. Hurray for midi happiness.)

I found these two on Yahoo. Definitely not us.

Just for fun, I looked for our names. I came up with this little kid, the Singing Zoologist, and this chicky-poo.

None of these are us.

This is us!

Hurray for us! (I was going to post a more embarrassing picture of Stink Pants #5, but he wouldn't let me.)

My First Wedding Show

2005-01-12T02:48:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, Mom and I went to a wedding show that's put on by the local bridal shop. It was at the Knights of Columbus Hall, so it's not like it was anything fancy. There were about 12-15 vendors there. A couple of caterers, some DJ's, florists, photographers, a dress store, a wedding chapel promoter and Curves (that weight loss place.) There wasn't anything too interesting. It's too soon to get a DJ (only a couple of them know what J-pop is anyway), we're required to use the in-house caterer for our location, Mom wants to get the flowers from a certain place because she knows the owners, and I know who I want to get as our photographer.

Then they dimmed the lights for the fashion show. I thought most of the dresses were ugly. The bridesmaids' dresses were all biased cut, which I don't really like because it looks lop-sided to me. There were a couple "mother's" dresses. The ones I remember were beige and mauve (boring...). Even the bridal gowns looked like glorified prom dresses. They were all shiny and either silver or "electric white", with biased designs on the front, and no discernable waist that I could tell. They flared out at the bottom all right, but it was like it was one fluid motion from the top of the dress to the bottom. Kind of like a morning glory turned upside-down I guess. Either way, I wasn't too impressed with them.

Except for one. When the model in this gown stepped on stage, there was a hush, then a murmur through the crowd as the brides-to-be and their mothers stared at this dress. It was almost like she was surrounded by a halo. It was a traditional wedding dress, a princess dress, gorgeous, fitted at the top and flared out at the waist. The bottom was edged with lace that just touched the surface of the runway. It was obvious that this was everyone's favorite.

Man, I can't wait to start trying on dresses! I can't start just yet though. If I do, I might end up buying five dresses just because they're pretty and on sale.

Here's the New Wedding Blog! (or Wedblog, haha!)

2005-01-09T02:07:00.000-05:00

So here it is. There's nothing on it, of course, but that will change a lot in the next twenty months. I want to get Luke to post some stuff too, but he'll probably just be content to let me do all the work, since that's what he's good at (lazy ass.)

First of all, here's some new information for everyone.

Our Wedding Date: August 26, 2006!

We spent some time during the holidays figuring this one out, so mark it on your calenders.

We decided to have plated dinners at our reception. My parents once went to a wedding with a buffet, and because they were seated on the wrong side of the room they didn't get to eat. NOT AT MY WEDDING! Everyone gets to eat! So there!

That was one of the main reasons for picking the place we picked. The other reason is because it's within a block or two of the three main hotels in the area, so people can get sloppy drunk without worrying about having a safety friend to drive them home. We'll have drunk shennanigans at our wedding! (I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it'll definitely be interesting.)

I'll post some picture of the places that we looked at. Special thanks to Noona (my maid of honor) and her boyfriend for coming with us on our reception hall journey.