♥ December 5th, 2009:
♥ December 6th, 2009:
We've decided not to have a bridal party ... hopefully my girlfriends aren't too disappointed they won't get to add another bridesmaid dress to their collections! :)
Need to get the location down within the next few weeks so we can get the date set and people can start looking into travel plans! Once we know that, we'll send out the Save The Dates/Christmas card!
♥ December 7th, 2009:
We know a lot of you are itching for a date to be set so you can start on your travel plans! We are doing our best to get our guest list drafted (it's been extremely hard honing it down, we wish we could just invite everyone we know!) and are finding it difficult, as most of the places we're looking at having the wedding (private vacation homes on beaches) have noise restrictions and a strict limit on the number of people in attendance (We're finding 25-40, which is ridiculous!).
But we are continuing to contact locations and will hopefully have some substantial news in terms of date/location within the next two weeks. But know that this is our number one priority right now! Love to you all! xo
♥ December 8th, 2009:
Brett and I spent much of last night trying to find reception locations in Maui, and finally realized that, unless we want to drastically slash our guest list, or drastically increase (read: double) our budget, this isn't going to work...
So, Brett suggested we go back to our original plan of checking out Kauai, which is known as the more tropical, lush, and secluded island, hoping prices wouldn't be as high. We were right! Even flights were half as expensive (i found round trip from Seattle on Hawaiian air for $393!)! So, now we're continuing our search for the perfect reception location on this island, and hopefully will have something pretty settled by the end of the week!
(We originally thought Kauai as a great wedding spot because of its romance, and also that's where my parents were married so there is sentimental value to me... but Maui is more tourist-y and we thought it would be better for all of you coming in for the wedding... After some research, we found out Kauai offers all that Maui does in terms of activities, but in a less tourist-dense environment! Check out more about the island here!)
♥ December 11, 2009
We are THIS close to picking our venue (and solidifying the dates!). Right now we're looking at two different places--one being very traditional and the other being extremely eccentric and wild... i think you all know which way we will lean! We want to take the weekend to weigh our options before paying the--gasp!--non-refundable deposit! So stay tuned to the blog early next week, when we'll be making the announcement!
xo
♥ December 14, 2009
Today we send in the non-refundable deposit on the venue we chose! I can't believe it's already happening! And i can't believe the money we have to fork out for a wedding -- this is CRAZY!
Luckily Brett and I have been saving for a while, and also we are REALLY good at finding some sweet deals (i pride myself on my resourcefulness and tenacity!) so we are getting an amazing deal on our dream location! After seriously hours and hours of searching, phone calls, emails, and replies, we stumbled upon the Moloa'a Shangrila, a cute and eccentric 4 bedroom bali-style home in Northeast Kauai. It has 15 acres all to itself, a saltwater swimming pool with a waterfall, buddha statues everywhere, has its own little honeymoon bungalow where Brett and I will stay, and is a 5 minute walk from Moloa'a Bay, the beach where the pilot of Gilligan's Island was filmed! It's just so US! (check out the 'venue' link to the right for photos and details!)
We ordered our save the dates yesterday and I'm compiling a list of addresses to send them to, and eventually the invitations. But for now, unless any major hiccups happen (aka, Brett gets deported, I meet and marry Brad Pitt, etc.), we're looking at 10.10.10 in Kauai, Hawaii!
Sadly, due to the fact that the wedding is at a private home in a remote location, and is destination and all, we can't have everybody there that we would have liked. We're toying with the idea of having a reception after the wedding in Seattle (and one in Australia the next time we are out, and probably one in Michigan the next time we are there) to celebrate with those unable to be with us. We just don't want people to feel bad for not being able to come to the wedding, due to time, money, the fact that you don't like us, or all of the above. And we also want to celebrate with ALL of our friends, even though we couldn't invite everybody to the actual wedding. The planning for this, however, is of course way in the future.
All for now. Will send more updates as they come! Love to you all!
♥ December 15, 2009
First off, Happy Birthday Margaret! Second off, WE BOOKED OUR VENUE! Yep. Brett went down to the bank-o-la and put in the (gasp!) non-refundable deposit. I told him we'd BETTER not break up, because we ain't gettin' that moolah back! (He did NOT find this funny.)
So, it's official. Our wedding will be on 10.10.10 in Kauai, Hawaii (save the date cards arriving shortly!)! We have the venue from the 8th thru the 12th, and will be there all 5 days. We'd love for you to be there then too! Keep your eyes peeled on 'Schedule of Events' where we'll update our travel plans and itinerary. Again, we're toying with the idea of staying on the island for a few extra days (at a different location, since Moloa'a Shangrila only allows us to stay there for 5 days cause of wear and tear with weddings) to make the most of our families and friends coming out so far to be with us. Again, we'll know more as the dates come closer.
Also, I've worked out deals with 2 airlines so far to get us discounts - American Air (5%) and Alaska Air (7%, code coming today) and am still waiting on a code from Hawaiin Air. Unfortunately Qantas doesn't offer discounts for groups, so i will continue digging for good deals or travel loopholes for those of you in Australia! But, PLEASE, before booking directly on AA or Alaska, check out discount sites like Kayak.com and Farecast.com, because these sites will find you the guaranteed lowest prices on flights, and you may find a flight that's way cheaper than even a discounted Alaska flight through Delta or something! Check out the 'Getting There' tab to the right to see more details as we update them!
We are now in the process of putting out RFPs for caterers, bartenders and DJ's. As much as we'd love to do this all ourselves, it may be a bit too overwhelming the day of the wedding, and we may try to get some help. This all depends on the pricing structures we receive back (weddings are EXPENSIVE!)...
All for now! Love you all! (check out our wedding VENUE! We're getting MARRIED!)
♥ December 16, 2009
Sending out the save the dates today! They arrived and are exactly what we wanted (you will see!). For those of you who i don't have your address yet, please send to me so i can get you one! Otherwise, just know that the date of our wedding is 10.10.10. VERY easy to remember!
Also, the BEST news of the day: found out there is a COSTCO on the island of Kauai! Basically i'm the happiest clam in the sea right now. This means we don't HAVE to get a caterer or bartender, we have the option of doing it ourselves very laid back (who wants Costco hot-dogs!)... Once we look into pricing more, of course. But we want the food to be really laid back BBQ style... so this suits perfectly! We also want to get a giant pig on a spit, and i don't think Costco supplies those, so we'll have to continue our search at least for that! :)
♥ December 17, 2009
Brett and i just received the most AMAZING engagement present from our friend Ryan Gronberg -- 2 FIRST CLASS one-way tickets to Lihue for our Wedding! It doesn't get much better than that!
We fly in on Thursday the 7th of October. The tickets are one-way because we are still not sure when we plan on leaving Hawaii (or where we are headed for our honeymoon!) but of course we'll let you know that as we find out. So, for family and friends joining us on Kauai, plan to head into town around then (and then perhaps stay a week or two from that date if you want to spend more time in Hawaii)... if that works for you!
THANK YOU RYAN, you are an amazing friend and we are so lucky to have you in our lives!
♥ December 20th, 2009:
Today we hired our wedding coordinator, Diana Gardener. As much as i LOVE planning this sort of thing, i knew i'd need a wee bit of help considering the fact that a) I don't live in Kauai and b) i want to actually ENJOY the wedding day and not be running around making sure that the ice is plentiful and no one has fallen into the pool. I also know we are trying to stick to a VERY strict budget, so we knew that getting someone on the 'inside' who knew the catering industry would be extremely beneficial. I will still be doing most of the planning and coordinating, but she will be finding me the cheapest and most affordable ways to make our dream FESTIVAL wedding happen, and will make sure that things run smoothly the day-of! And while she wasn't necessarily "cheap" (she's Brett's wedding gift to me, i keep telling him! basically, she = my sanity throughout this whole process!), she is worth it: she has rave reviews all over the inter-webs, she understands and is willing to work with our budget, and SHE LOVES AUSTRALIANS! So, that was settled. :)
Hopefully by now you have all received your save-the-dates and have found this website and all its jewels of wisdomly advice, from accommodation options to recreation and cheap dining while here. Please let us know if you have any questions or want help with anything in terms of the wedding (again, i love this stuff and am super happy to help!)! We're going to take a week-long break from everything wedding to enjoy family for the holiday season. Wish we could all be together! Merry Christmas and our love to you and yours this week! xo
♥ December 28, 2009:
Hope you all had a GREAT Christmas! I know we did!
Over the holiday, we put in our reservation/deposit for some big stuff: the tent, dancefloor, tables and chairs. It's tough because we have NO idea a head-count, so we're really just guessing. Go big and pair down once we need to. Now, we're finalizing catering, which is our other 'BIG' decision/purchase. Once rentals and food are done with, everything else is the fun fluff that goes along with it!
Hopefully you have all received your save-the-dates by now! If you feel you know you are able to come, head on over to the RSVP page and let us know! We do plan on sending out official invitations closer to the date, but it would be GREAT to know who all is planning on coming as soon as possible, to get a good idea of head count for food, etc.! And be sure to include your shoe size! ;)
I received a message from Alaska Airlines today saying the code is GOOD TO GO as of today, so book away, friends! I'm still waiting to hear back from Hawaiian Air, but am almost calling it a lost cause... 3 emails and 4 voicemails, anything more and i think it's border-line stalking! :)
The food we're planning on booking is straight from a luau-catering company, so we're not sure if we're still going to try to coordinate going to a luau all of us together, unless we hear from a ton of people they want to do that. I just know the tickets can be pricey, and if we're already enjoying that food at the reception, we may not need to go to one. Although if you do want to, we highly recommend it, it's super fun! We will start to put together more group events, too, once we know who all will be coming, so be sure to RSVP if you think you know for sure that you'll be there!
yay! more to come when we know it! Happy New Year everyone--may 2010 be FREAKING AWESOME! (i KNOW it will be!) love to you all,
B&M
♥ January 6, 2010:
Welcome, 2010!! The year we're getting MARRIED! I know i'm going to love this year! All things wedding went a bit on hold over the holidays, but now I'm back in full-swing. I'm still negotiating catering with our coordinator, and once that is settled, all the major/time sensitive things will be out of the way! YAY!
AND... i bought Brett's wedding ring today! We found it two weeks ago on Christmas Eve while shopping at Alderwood Mall with my family. It was THE MOST PERFECT ring and Brett fell in love at first sight. The one they had on hand was his perfect size, too: XXXXL. It was a sign! So after 2 weeks of tossing and turning, Brett decided he had to have it, and i went and picked it up! He got home and was so giddy to try it on, and even asked if he could wear it before the wedding cause he loved it so much! I actually bought him a practice ring last week to wear (he's never worn jewlelry before!) and he's already lost it 3 times (a gal actually chased us out of a restaurant to return it to us after Brett left it on his placemat) so i told him as SOON as he gets better with the practice ring, he can wear the real ring (on the other hand, of course!). I'll update you all on his progress as it continues. :)
♥ January 12, 2010:
I booked the catering today! We're shooting for a very laid-back luau style dinner, with the following Menu (supplied by an actual Luau catering company on Kauai!):
*Shredded Luau Pork, fresh cooked from the Imu in Anahola
*Chicken Long Grain rice
*Lomi Lomi Salmom (fresh tomato and salmon salad)
*Poi
*Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding)
*Imu Rice Pudding
Also, we're looking at different musicians to play during the ceremony on the beach, and it's between a ukulele and a harp -- they both sound awesome...
Lastly, we're hoping to put together a couple of excursions during the trip -- at least coordinate a couple so if people want to join they can... We are hoping for zip lining, or mountain tubing (through the caves!)... But please, take a moment to look at the 'Recreation' page, and if something looks good to you, let us know!
Side note: Our engagement party is planned for Saturday February 20th at Black Bottle in Belltown! We hope that all you locals can make it! And for you Aussies who can't, we'll just have to party twice as hard when we all get together in Kauai!
xo
♥ January 16, 2010:
Our engagement announcement made it into one of the local papers last Thursday! Mom was teaching at a school in Everett and a fellow teacher pointed it out to her, ha! Love it! Click HERE to read it!
♥ January 20, 2010:
We just found out that Johnny Depp and friends will be joining us for our wedding on Kauai this fall! :)
♥ February 1, 2010:
Vote For US! Just registered to win a dream wedding! :) Wouldn't $100,000 be nice to put towards this Kauai Festival?? :)
♥ February 10, 2010:
It's been pretty quiet on the wedding front, but we're still working away. Friends and family are purchasing their tickets and finalizing travel plans. We're hearing whispers about the Bachelor and Bachelorette parties and starting to get excited! And, of course, we're gearing up for next weekend's ENGAGEMENT PARTY! We sure wish all you Aussies could be there to help us celebrate!
Still deciding on whether or not to do Engagement Photos. We realize it's currently about 3 months after the actual engagement, but we'd like to do them around the city when the weatehr is nicer. Is that allowed? To wait like 5 months after the Engagement to capture the thrill of it all in "Engagement Photos"? Or do we have to just call them "Photos"??? Who knows.
I just bought the fixins to make the invitations and programs today! So i have that project cut out for me. :) Won't send them probably until next month, but again, if you know you're coming, please RSVP with shoe size in advance, just so we know.
We've booked everything we need to book in advance. Venue, rentals, food, entertainment, and now are just trying to figure out where we want to go after the wedding -- from the 12th thru the 15th (do we want to stay in Kauai? or head to Maui till friday? what are you all doing? we want to be with family!) and then decide also what to do for our Honeymoon. I think this all depends on how much we have left of our budget at the end of all this madness! :)
We're in the middle of trying to buy a house, too, which is why wedding is a bit on the back burner until that is taken care of. But again, if any of you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to let us know!
Oh! one last thing... some of the girls and i are going to check out my potential wedding dress today! wish me luck!
WE LOVE YOU and are getting SO EXCITED for the big celebration! xo
♥ February 17, 2010:
My wedding dress arrived today! woo hoo! So exciting. All the ladies in the office are gushing over me right now, it's really fun.
Also, sent out the invitations YESTERDAY! So keep your eyes on your mailboxes for them! It will take a week or so for them to start trickling in to you Australians. And i am still missing a few addresses (check your facebook inboxes!), but the bulk of them have been mailed, which means IT'S OFFICIAL! :)
Gearing up for our engagement party this Saturday, could not be more excited to start the festivities! xo
♥ March 2, 2010:
We had the most AMAZING engagement party! Thanks to all who came out, and for all who helped plan it (you know who you are!). Special thanks to Jenna for putting it on, and to Rollo for coming up with such a fabulous speech! We are so excited for you to officiate after hearing your gift with words! :)
Australia should be getting your invitations about now! Let me know if you don't. Still, though, you can always RSVP without them on the website.
Brett and I are in the midst of a very long, tiring, drawn out home-search/home-buying process. It is consuming all our extra efforts, so we haven't done much in terms of wedding planning (although there isn't much left to do until closer to the date!)... will keep you posted on how that all goes... wish us luck!
Here are some resources we’ve gathered to help make your trek to the Garden Aisle even easier! Don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions! All our love from Seattle!
♥ March 22, 2010:
Sorry we've been MIA, but we've been up to our ears in home-buying! OUR OFFER WAS ACCEPTED! So we are now in the process of getting an inspection, and finalizing all the goodies that come along with getting a mortgage... why can't we just win the lottery, right?
So wedding has been put on the back burner for now. But luckily, we're pretty much done planning, so that's great!
Thought we'd gather some information that may be helpful for your travels. Click the images below for more info!
[L to R: Traveling with Kids | Kauai Hazards | What to Pack | Travel Tips]
♥ May 25th, 2010: Brett and i bought a condo! it's so lovely and we are so happy. Wedding plannign still on the back burner for now. Although almost everything we can plan in advance has been planned, apart from a specific schedule that includes a beach day (where we can all head to the same beach and surf, snorkle, dive, etc), welcome bbq at the house (date TBD), and a few other fun things. So stay tuned for that.
What we need now is for all of you who plan on coming to please RSVP as soon as you can. This will help us with the remainder of the wedding planning, once we know numbers.
Love and miss you all, we are getting SO excited for our big day, i can hardly stand it!
♥ July 2oth, 2010:
Well, I suppose nothing says ‘We’re busy and happy’ more than a 2-month hiatus from updating our blog.
It’s been a whirlwind. From work, to being new homeowners (we literally bought all new house-wares – from furniture to wine glasses to sheets!) to Date Nights, birthdays, weddings, and everything in between, wedding planning has literally been the last thing on Brett’s and my minds… that is, until I got an alert from Wedding Wire (our RSVP site) that we had merely 90 days to go until the big day. EEEK! This put my butt into full gear, since we still have so much to do!
Most of the ‘to-do’s’ are the little things – order the kegs, the generator, confirm the catering and tents, order decorations and linens, party favors, sort out the guest book – you know, all the stuff that Brett is BEGGING to do for me but I INSIST he relaxes and let me take care of the fun stuff. ;)
So, we recently made the final payment on the venue (yay!), I’ve had a few hour-long phone calls with our wedding planner Diana to iron out a lot of the last minute details (which include suckering some of our friends into helping us set up and break down the tables and benches for the wedding before and after – any volunteers?!), and we’re well on our way.
Trying to get as many RSVPs in by the end of August so we can know numbers. It’s not easy planning food and shelter (and favors!) for maybe 150 people but maybe 75 people… I’d say that’s the biggest challenge.
And Brett and I decided to nix planning excursions while in Kauai, since we want to be able to hang out with everyone whenever we can, and excursions would limit us to the 10 or so people who are able to buy tickets for any given event… so instead, we’re throwing a Welcome BBQ and planning a Beach Day, so people can drop by and see us and say hi in between their adventures, or perhaps have their adventures at the beach we plan on plopping at (our friends Jon and Jenna promise it’s the most amazing beach on the entire island, Hanalei Bay!)… So be sure to check out our ‘schedule of events’ page to see details on that.
Hope you are all getting as excited as we are! I truly can’t wait, not only to see all of you and celebrate with you, but to finally marry my best friend (no, Jenna, not you) and call Brett my husband once and for all!
Love to you all,
B&M
And, since we'll be drinking from like 10am on (or at least i will be!), and need something more substantial. So, we decided to hire a catering company that caters real-live luaus! PERFECT! We get our pig after all, without all the work involved with digging.
So, here is the food menu that we will be enjoying on 10.10.10.
Menu:
*Shredded Luau Pork, fresh cooked from the Imu in Anahola
*Chicken Long Grain rice
*Poi
*Haupia
*Imu Rice Pudding
We will also have an assortment of salads, snacks and dips throughout the evening.
Drinks:
*An amazing assortment of Beer + Wine courtesy of Costco-Kauai!
♥ October 6th, 2010: WE LEAVE TOMORROW! Many of you are already en-route!!
