so you think you can dance at a wedding - by NBC

two fun things to share. one funny, one fun - really.

my dad found this video. scott and i are thinking, shoot, our wedding party would be down for that for the most part. we could have greg and brian start it off like the first two guys in the video. how hilarious. okok, it probably doesn't really fit into the feeling of the wedding, but i think it is A-mazing. and i love it a little. well, maybe a lottle.

now fun thing! a woman at the rock told scott that NBC wants to give away a wedding at the Prado at Balboa Park for one san diegan couple. so we are applying. why not? at first i was a little hesitant, but then i don't really see a reason not to do it. if nothing else it's fun to answer the questions about what we're like, our best date ever, and why we fell in love with each other. so fun. it's worth at least trying.

updates on progress:

tea sandwiches are looking gooood! my parents go up north in a few weeks and will sample some of the selections for us. here's one platter i found on google images that i really love. simple yet yummy looking.

photographer is booked! woohoo. very talented guy and his wife who go to our church. they were way cheaper than most people we looked at, yet we liked their stuff almost the most. our first choice would have been about the same price but she was booked. but glory hallelujah! another big piece fits into place.

friends have been gracious with extra decorations and lights which is a huge blessing. for things that we don't have, don't want to buy, and can't bum off someone else, we're getting from the Abbey rentals. they are well priced and convenient. plus with cutting out a formal caterer we have a little more space monetarily to breathe.

i've also been toying with other creative ideas for decorations and special touches. i love the idea of embracing the feeling of fall and incorporating that into the wedding without making it queso-y themed. i want the feeling of fall without us sitting on hay bails if that makes sense. the rich colors, the sense of warmth and closeness...that sort of thing.

those are all the updates for now. although we still need a ceremony site. (that is to say, if nbc doesn't choose us - we still need one) our two priorities that need to happen asap are: wedding site hunt-pounce-nail down, and getting our website up and running.

si se puede!

onward and upward

things are starting to feel like they're coming together! scott and i decided that we are going to nix the catering idea and have a full on DIY wedding. at first that seemed a little overwhelming as well, and difficult to make work out in a nice-enough way. however, with the help of some fabulous friends and family we are well on our way to have our very own hand-made wedding :]

we also want to incorporate some more artistic ideas that fit us...i think it's the hot new thing to have a slide show of sorts and we love that idea. we have a good friend that may be able to do an amazing one for us. kind of the super artsy style that we want.

other news. i worked on the budget for a while and researched prices for things like the drinks that we want, silverware, lights, and other decorations. a lot of it will just have to wait until it's time to get things really going because i can't really decide on all my flowers until i have them in front of me. however, one idea that i'm liking more and more is to have some beautiful fall leaves on the tables around the centerpieces and maybe even some down the aisle too! oooo...lovin it.

i'm not really the 'theme' wedding type of person. but i do like the idea of embracing the fact that it's going down in fall. beautiful time of the year filled with warm drinks, lovely scarves, painted leaves, and big clouds.

anyway..time to do some more research and find us one of the last big pieces to the puzzle. the ceremony venue. woot.

We're moving right along

Woot! We have a venue. Hip hip hooray!

Scott and I decided to go with my parents' backyard for our reception. The moment we began viewing it as a viable option, we became overjoyed. Everything felt right - the space, the freedom, the ditching of the wedding industry, and that warm feeling of something that fits you. It's perfect. Suddenly planning seems much more enjoyable to me again. Now I get to think about the fun stuff like, what kind of flowers do I like? What favors do I want to give out? What kind of cake do we want? Oh the joys!

I'm trying to be very cautious of letting any part of this get us down or make us stressed. I want to look back on our engagement and think, that was so much fun, I enjoyed every minute of it (after I decided that all those ridiculous wedding venues and their fees, restrictions, and inflated price tags could eat my shorts). I want our wedding to be FUN and like a giant celebration with all our good good friends and family. I'm pretty sure that's what weddings started out as. Pretty sure. But I think they got a little crazy somewhere in there and became this weird ideal. "The Day" is now this thing that makes couples do strange strange things --- like have ridiculously gaudy cakes such as this one. Or carve swans out of ice. Ice sculptures just about kill me really. One venue I called told me that they have a table specifically for 'my' ice sculpture and I accidentally laughed. I played it off as an "aheem, ahem. S'cuse me", but I doubt she didn't notice.

Amidst all the ridonculousness though, we are having fun and enjoying planning the biggest party we will ever throw. I guarantee it will be the iDeihl wedding :] Sorry...couldn't help myself.

i could start sewing a giant tent now...

for the past two days i have been on the hunt for a venue to have either a) our ceremony, b) our reception, or c) both in the same location. truly you would be amazed at how much work this is. i have charts and graphs and a wedding venue mobile hanging above my bed, i promise. it glows and reminds me which venues allow outside catering, which have indoor facilities, and which are absurdly overpriced. which would actually be most. so it's quite bright in my room at night.

i have, however, found the most wonderful man/caterer in the world. we'll see how much he'll end up wanting to charge me, but he is so friendly and helpful it's worth it to talk to him even if we don't end up using him. his food is bomb, he's so professional, and he emails me about every other day to give me more insider hints and tidbits. i think his website is under construction at the moment but he's Jeff the Chef and i recommend him if you need an honest and good caterer or if you just need a friend.

the thought has occurred to scott and i to try a backyard style venue (meaning my house or his). only problems being that this might prove to be just as expensive as a set venue and that we have so many stinkin people we want to invite that it limits us a twinge.

i believe the countdown is at 137 days so time's a tickin. admittedly the two of us took the first month or so of being engaged pretty casually. but you can't really blame us, there was plenty taking up our time. and we did some important things like finding my dress, his suit, and a song to walk down to. we just didn't have any aisle to walk down. however, making the first official call to a venue and hearing that they're booked for the next year and a half's worth of saturdays put a few tacks under our tushies.

some might call us procrastinators...but i prefer 'laid back'. on the bright side, while perhaps we have a little less time than a lot of engagees, we are not easily stressed. or maybe that's not the bright side...i forget. bottom line is: never fear world! we will find a place and we will get married! if i have to make a venue of my own we'll do it! hand me a sewing machine, 150,000 yards of white wedding tent fabric, a glue stick and some michaels flowers and we're off.

ok...back to searching. wish me luck.