Goodness Gracious

I went to the Pros event last night, where they described all their packages. My mother is worried about them not costing much (relatively) since her friends used photographers that cost near $6,000 alone. I personally like the no BS they seem to be offering.

Had to leave early suddenly, then tried to get home and was stopped by a giant fire. The hotel my parents were looking forward to staying in once it officially opened burnt down in a 3-alarm fire. I could see the flames from my house, once I finally got in through the back way.

Bummer.

Edit:

This is the fire. It finally finished burning 9am this morning:

Custom Bridal Search

I whipped up a little custom bridal search for you guys (well, mostly for me).

It will always be accessible in the upper left hand corner, but basically, it will gear all search results towards wedding planning.

For example, try searching for photo booth in a normal google search. Then try it on mine. Just a little way of making searching for vendors, tips and the like a little easier for everyone!

Custom Search

Maybe I'm Crazy...

But I am going to another Bride Expo type thing on Sunday... again.

Since I didn't get to see much and missed out on a lot of vendors I need for the DC area, I figured it was only fortunate that there is another one in the DC area. I don't know too much about it, but I did notice a few of the vendors I was interested on it.

Plus, I got tickets for free. (Promo Code: MCFT http://www.greatbridalexpo.com I have no idea where that code is from, but hey, it works for two free tickets to any of the shows--not just DC.)

I actually have a lot of the components done for my wedding. Well, the New York parts at least. My wedding events are supposed to miraculously change locations at some point. I don't know why I make my life so difficult sometimes!

But I have been through so many vendor meetings, so if you have any questions about booking reception halls or caterers, things to ask vendors, advice for anything in general really, feel free to post it, and I will answer it if at all possible.

I didn't intend this journal to be just wedding things. I just tend to do a bunch of wedding aspects in spurts. So many surreal things happen in my life that merit posting, but apparently not during wedding spurts!

Weddzilla Guest Blog

Here is that guest blog I promised.


It is on getting a lower price at reception halls. Enjoy!

Oh, Hanna

I missed the majority of the Bridal Expo. Hanna decided to pass through town for the majority of yesterday, postponing a lot of my parents' plans. (They are temporarily in town).

So, we tried to shove two days worth of stuff into about a half day's worth of time. I took them around the historical parts of Old Town Alexandria. Thereafter, we rushed up to Dulles to the Washington Bridal Showcase. We made it for maybe the last hour, which I don't recommend, because I made it through about two or three rows of vendors, and although the giveaways aren't the most important part, they were done by the time I got there. (Though it was really fun watching the reality of the wedding settle into my father's face!)

I was pretty interested in The Pros since I can book them here, but use them in New York. Any experience with them?


I don't mind missing that much because Old Town was pretty fun. I noticed I do more touristy stuff when other people are in town, since I don't really see the need to go to those places when I live there all the time. We had lunch at La Madeline, which is really great for a chain bakery. I always got the Chicken Friand when I lived in Georgetown, and it was always pretty delicious. I never tried the full on entrees, possibly because the baked goods type food is so darn good.

I took them to Daniel O'Connel's on Friday night, which is my staple Irish pub for this area. I pretty much need one wherever I go (but luckily, they aren't hard to find).

I spotted a man wandering town with a newspaper admiral's hat today. I don't know about you, but I was impressed!

Bridal Show Tomorrow

I am going to a very large bridal show tomorrow. My mother is a bit apprehensive about me going because, as she put it, "if you give those vendors your number, they'll call you!"

I kind of thought that was the point of a bridal show! Finding vendors!

My SO is a bit more sad about not going to the bridal show than I thought he would be. I think he complains about wedding stuff just to save face with his friends. There are a lot of aspects he seems pretty excited about, even if you remove the menu out of the picture. (We haven't had the tasting yet, and he's eagerly looking forward to it)

Getting vendors is pretty confusing for me. My wedding is in one state, but a lot of the vendors I need should be in another state. Plus, most my guests are in that second state.

It stinks when I find vendors that seem really good for one of the things I need, but in the wrong state. That's part of the problem with going to the shows. I can find someone great in the wrong place!

Wedding Preparation - Weddzilla

About a week and a half ago, I went to the Weddzilla launch party in Arlington, VA. I think the idea of the website is awesome, but it really relies on people using it for success. Basically, you post your budget for each item, and vendors bid on the site for your business. The launch party was pretty awesome, and my friend won dance lessons for her future wedding (jealous!).

I am going to have a guest blog posted on their website on Monday, September 8, and probably will write there in the future. You can check it out at the Weddzilla Blog and look for updates to that in the future. I will also be posting a bit about Wedding Planning here, in addition to other anecdotes in my life.

I don't mean to be high maintenance... but...

Well...

When I lived in a more rural area for a short time, I had passed a roadside stand selling corn. "How Great!" I thought to myself, because I had recently become a huge fan of corn on the cob. I always had the bagged-already-removed type and a friend had convinced me to pick up the frozen corn on the cobs once--and since then I was hooked. It looked easy enough, peel away the green and then cook, right?

So I picked up some corn and went home. I already had some chicken and potatoes in the kitchen, so I figured I would make a big meal of it. Picking up the phone, I dialed a new friend there and invited him over.

See, I love to cook. It is one of my passions that helps me socially, because, well, who doesn't want a home-cooked meal every so often? It is a weapon I wield, and I like to believe, wield decently.

One thing I am excellent at is timing everything to the point where all the food finishes at the same time, so I did not even attempt the corn until I had put the chicken on the stove.

I peel off one layer of green leaves. Another layer is left behind. "How curious!" I thought to myself, likening it to a Russian matroyska doll.

After peeling leaves off the solitary cob for a while, I figured there needed to be a faster way, or else dinner would never be served. I grabbed the top of the corn and pulled as hard as I possibly could.

The leaves finally gave and pulled way, spilling out wispy hairs all onto the counter. Now, I knew these green leaves were supposed to be on the corn, but were these hairs? I didn't think it seemed possible for those to just grow inside of the corn's leaves. I decided to check with another piece of corn.

A few minutes later led to me staring at the half-shucked corn on the counter, all with these hairy wisps pouring out. My heart was pounding. Did I get defective corn? Was there some flora-disease spreading around that causes the corn to spontaneously sprout hair?

The food was near done and my guest was due in one minute. I quickly pulled the rest of the leaves and hair off the corn and threw them into the pot.


My guest arrived, and we sat down to eat. He took a piece of corn and was about to eat it, when guilt poured all over me. "Wait!" I exclaimed. He stopped before he took a single bite, and listened while I confessed that I was serving him defective corn.

Of course, he laughed hysterically, and explained shucking to me. At least by the time I wrote this, I have stopped hearing about it.