sharing toys...

our engagement party was wonderful! my aunt and UD did an AMAZING job! and spending time with our family and friends reminded us of all the people we love and those who love us! (another post with pictures and quotes will follow when i get the many of pictures :)

we received wonderful, thoughtful gifts and we love them all, but this is one that really made us laugh and has started our game collection (such a great idea zigi!)

the lovely and very true statement card 

apples to apples and LCR!

zigi, one of my aunt's good friend, has been coming with her justin bieber look-a-like son to many of our family functions and always brings a cheerful spirit and also many fun games! the past few family get togethers we have played both these games and loved them! matt and i were actually just talking about this week on how we want to find the game LCR (if you haven't played you must! you might make some $$$)

every family has their coveted game collections! thanks zigi for starting ours! :)

our list of wanted games:

{apples to apples}

{LCR}

{settlers} (played this with some of our friends and we both really got into it! thanks BOB for suddenly winning and tricking us! ha)

{monopoly} (i have never finished a game, but doesn't every family need one or a few editions of the game?!?)

{scrabble} (speaks for itself)

what other games am i forgetting? (please share)

i said "YES" to the dress! (most impulsive buy ever!)

so many of you may know....I GOT MY WEDDING DRESS!!!! but i didn't mean to get it sooooooo fast....here is the story:

last saturday i went to my favorite wedding dress store: THE DRESSER with a whole posse, and tried on a handful of dresses.  before going last week i read on the dresser blog that they were going to have their BIG SALE on sunday! last year lilia got her dress at an AMAZING deal at the dresser during this sale...thinking that i would just go to look around...boy, was i wrong...

the rules/guidelines of the sale included:

- come with 1 or 2 people (came just with my mummy)

- cash only (we had to run to the bank)

- wear sweatpants or leggings for quick changing

- sale starts at 9am and people will camp out

- dresses are up to 90% off

- $100 to $500

- a 15 minute limit in the store during the sale! yikes!

well mum and i woke up as usually on sunday...we decided to go to church at 5pm so we had the whole day to go shopping. we leisurely took our time shopping at a few stores before heading to the dresser at 11am (we were told that at 11 the line would die down). we arrived at 11:30 and saw a small line. they were only letting 5 brides in at a time...while we waited in line for about 40 minutes we spoke to a few brides talking to them about their weddings and also their hopes to find the 'perfect' dress...i on the other hand told them that my wedding was further in the future than theirs and that i was just browsing to see how this sale goes...

after we were finally let in, all 5 brides (they told me to use dressing room #3, which is a good number in my family) and our small posses, looked around the store to find a few dresses to try on...but after what felt like 2 minutes in the store we heard "brides, start trying on your dresses! 10 minutes left!" well i didn't think i had many dresses to try on, and really i was only trying on these dresses since we waited in the line (i really wasn't crazy about them). but then one of the consultants who remembered me from the day before, came up to me to let me know she left a dress in my room and that she thought it might be perfect for me...

getting to my room i looked at the dress and i decided i would try it on since the consultant was sooo excited about it...i tried it on...and wow it was really pretty...but i decided to try on a few more...after trying on 2 more i heard "5 minutes!" yikes so i went back to the first dress...my mum and i and the consultants looked at it in the mirror again...i said "wow! i am not sure!" then others said "that is sooo pretty on you!" aww the pressure! i asked my consultant from the day before what she thought...she said that this designer was an amazing designer and that this dress was couture and the lace would look lovely for a barn type of wedding...then she told me how much it previously was...80% off! o my! i love a good deal and this was great! after looking at it in the mirror a few more times and looking to my frantic mum who was feeling rushed i decided that i was going to end my wedding dress shopping by buying this amazing dress!

after running to the bank to get the cash, we were walking around the store and noticed there was a picture of lilia and her groom in her wedding dress there and then there was a picture of me in lilia's wedding...this just showed that i had to get this dress...

well after 15 minutes i got the dress! not only did i get an amazing dress, i also have a story that i can tell others...also it is from the same store where i got the dress (my homecoming princess one) that matt first noticed me in! a story we can tell the children! side-note: they sell this designer at Kleinfeld's (the home of "say yes to the dress" so i really did get my a piece of the show...or at least i feel that way!)

after getting home i tried it on a few dozen times to show my sis (who made the journey home from school to be the first to see it on me), my grandparents came over and my favorite friend claire made sure she was one of the first to see it on me :)

checklist:

- groom

- venue

- dress

- invitations

- flowers

- and so on and so on...

here is a picture of my dress from the Pattis website (but it really doesn't do it justice; can't wait to show you the pictures of me in it...you will just have to wait till the wedding)

next: our engagement party is today!

think about it.........

matt and i email throughout the day.

this is what his latest email read:

"Think about it.........http://www.vivalasvegasweddings.com/beachparty_wedding.htm"

you think matt might be over all the fun wedding stuff?!?! ha :)

a second time

 (not sure how i feel about this one)

 today went for my 2nd time wedding dress shopping...brought claire (2nd inline bridesmaid) and my second little sister, jess. my MOH (lauren), mum and grandmother came along too!

 (felt like a Miss America type of dress)

last saturday i was not feeling "up to par" when shopping (a little under the weather) so i forsure needed to go again and find some i liked. 

 (love buttons and ribbon/bow)

went back to MARY ME BRIDAL to re-try on the dress for the girls...loved it on, but another dress caught my eye...even though it was slightly out of my budget i decided to try it on...it was very beautiful! my lovely consultant said that she might have another one that i might like....tried it on...WOW soooooo pretty!!! mum said she almost cried when she saw me in it...i now have a new favorite and maybe the one!

 (feathers!)

after mary me bridal we went to the Dresser. this place has some history: back in 10th grade when i was homecoming princess, i bought my dress from here...also in that dress is when matt finally noticed me and told me i was "beyond beautiful!" telling the my consultant this, i felt that maybe i should get my dress here...i also found one that i really loved!

tomorrow the dresser will be having a HUGE sale...one of those that you camp out to go to and run in...my consultant said that it starts at 9am tomorrow and that you only get 15 minutes in the store to find "the one." we might be going back tomorrow 

 (not my type)

 (lace)

 (love veil/Madonna type of veil)

you might be asking "aren't you scared that matt will see you in your wedding dress?" well...not really...out of these dresses there is one that i really loved (these are all from the dresser) but at mary me bridal that i think i love more (not pictured)...feel free to comment on which one you love the most! thanks for reading!

(taking a deep breath)

ultimate wedding contest!

I always wanted to be in a wedding contest in hopes of winning the prize! now we are!!!! Vote for us in the Crate & Barrel Ultimate Wedding Contest! Vote Here

It be sooooooo AMAZING to win! if you remember vote everyday! thanks!

"say 'yes' to the dress"

last saturday, i had the appointment that every girl looks forward to most of their life! (or if you are me, your entire life!)

my grandma, mom, sister (MOH) and i went to mary me bridal in orange. they were having a trunk show for a designer that i really liked!

knowing that i probably wouldn't find the "dress" on my first try, i thought that i might find a few runner-ups...upon my arrival they let me look around the store while the consultant asked me what i was looking for..."lace, a-line, strapless or a little sleeve, no halter, no spaghetti straps, no bling, etc." i knew exactly what i wanted...but after trying on about 15 dresses, none of them felt like i had thought they would have felt...first with the designer i was there to see, the dresses were huge and heavy with lots of tulle! most i could barely move in and the others were just soooo heavy...after trying on a ton, the consultant found a few that she thought i might like...soooo much lighter, and feeling like i could get around, i found a few i like...only one had lace and the other two didn't but they did have a bow!

we are going back this weekend to see them again and also go to a few more stores...more details to follow...

finally

"ADVICE: before you get engaged, find the venue you want to get married at." -Shannon

after looking and visiting more than 15 wedding venues (and looking at over 100 online) we finally figured out where we are going to get married!

the very first venue we looked at, Rancho Capistrano, was wonderful! except for the new owners... Saddleback Church now is renting the property after the Crystal Cathredral sold it...meaning we would now have to go through Saddleback Church to get married and also no wine would be allowed at the reception...also there was about 125 couples on the waiting list to get married there...so after much disappointment we decided we needed to find a new venue.

looking at many places in orange county and the wine country (temecula) we couldn't find that "perfect" venue...

some things we wanted:

-outside venue

-secluded from other surroundings

-options for us to bring in our own caterer

-not a "drive-thru" wedding, meaning "bring just your dress" type of places. they do everything for you, i want a little control..haha

temecula had a few that we liked...but we didn't have that firework feeling...so we decided to keep looking around.

Wiens Family Cellars: we loved this place!

(another beautiful place, but too much 'drive-thru' wedding feeling)

after a few more weekends looking at places in the orange county area, we still hadn't found a place. one saturday after we went and looked at 2 places that were not up to par we decided we would go to the place we first loved...the meanda grove. a couple we know had their fall time wedding here last septemeber...at the wedding i remember telling matt's mom that the wedding was perfect and that i would love to get married there. we didn't really think too much of this place due to it being in riverside and also wanting to find another venue...but after much searching we couldn't seem to find a place that gave us the same feeling as we had at the meanda grove.

the great thing about the meanda grove is that we can do our wedding how we want to! it is going to be great! we both have soooo many ideas!