Weddingbee Blog

Last weekend, I escaped the freezing Boston weather and jetted to the Bay Area to visit Mr. Latte. Since our last few visits had been crammed full of wedding planning, we vowed not to do anything wedding related. Well, that was until I saw that Crate & Barrel was having their “Wedding Party” Registry event!!! I quickly signed up and proceeded to persuade Mr. Latte into going with me while I was in town. He gave in quickly when I promised him that they would have food, drinks and… a free gift! (I didn’t tell him that the free gift was going to be a hand blown glass heart bowl, but those are just details, right???)

So we got up early on Sunday morning and headed over to the huge Santana Row C&B. Doors opened at 9AM, and we would be able to roam freely with our scanner for about 2 hours. Armed with a cup of coffee, a copy of our existing registry and my TO DO list, we waited in line for the doors to open. Yes, there was a line… and yes, we had already started our registry. Actually, we were almost done with it, but I had a couple of items that I wanted to get finalized.

The doors opened, we checked in, got our scanners, and were led on a mini-tour of the store. We were then set free and I got to work tackling the items on my TO DO list.

Mr. Latte apparently had a TO DO list of his own, which looked a lot less complicated and a lot more fun than mine:
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One of the very few wedding-related tasks that I completely delegated to Mr. Latte was researching and reserving blocks of hotel rooms. I made up some lame excuse about why he should take care of it… something about how his friends were the ones that would need the hotel block, and since he knows them better than I do, he should be the one to do it. I know, super lame… but it worked!

In reality, I did not want to have anything to do with this aspect of wedding planning. I had heard horror stories from friends about hotels not honoring discounted rates, high minimums and unrelenting customer service representatives. I just didn’t want to deal with it! And to be honest, I just can’t get that excited about a hotel. I am not a fan of sleeping in strange beds, in strange rooms and hearing strange noises at night. This is unfortunate because I travel a lot for work. Sure, I’ve stayed in some really nice hotels, but it just takes a lot for me to get excited about a hotel stay.

But when you can say “bunk bed,” “hammock,” and “sunken bed,” all in 1 sentence, how can you be anything but excited? Yup, these can all be found at the NU Hotel in Brooklyn. A new boutique hotel (opened in July ’08), this hotel boasts fresh designs that looked so cool online that I had to go see it in person. I immediately loved the trendy feel of the lobby, and the clean look of the rooms. Check out these pictures from their website:

(NU’s lobby)

Their standard rooms are nice, but check out these suites:
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In my previous post, I told you all about my J.Crew letdown that left my special ladies without special dresses. So we decided to go the old-fashioned route and actually went to a store to try some dresses on. I wish I could tell you that we went to 1 place, found our dresses and were done, but c’mon, this is the Latte wedding. Remember me? The one with the 4.5 part dress saga???

Yup, I dragged my poor BMs to 6 shops before finally deciding on some dresses. I know, I’m one meanie bride. But it gets worse. I dragged them out in the snow. And changed my mind. A lot.

Honestly, I would’ve been happy with any of the dresses we tried on. But I really wanted them to like, no, LOVE their dresses. I know what you’re thinking… that’s impossible! No BM loves her dress! And who cares… she’s never going to wear the dress again anyway! Well, I think it IS possible and I care! I want them to feel special and beautiful on my wedding day, and ladies, we all know that when you look good, you feel good!

Now the challenge was finding a dress they would all love and feel beautiful in. And although we fought the good fight, we lost. My BMs have different body types and style preferences, so finding one dress that would be perfect for all of them was next to impossible. So we changed up our game plan, and decided to look for two styles in the same color and fabric. The search continued… but finding two coordinating styles was harder that we thought!

That is, until we walked into Allegria Bridal in Belmont, MA. With the help of THE most wonderful consultant, Barb*, we found four perfectly coordinating styles! They all have similarities that tie them together (empire waists, strapless, full skirts) but are different enough to fit each girl’s style and body shape. BM H doesn’t like strapless, so she can add spaghetti straps. My MOH can have the rouched top that she loves.

They are all from the Jim Hjelm Occasions line so we are assured that the color and fabric will be the same. So without further adieu, here they are!

(Yes, I Photoshopped the dresses together. I’m a visual person.)

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J.Crew and I have had a loving relationship for over a decade. She (He? Would J.Crew be a “he”? Nah!) always provided for my every clothing need. When I needed a dress for my high school graduation, who was there? J.Crew. When I needed a suit to wear for my very first job interview, who provided? J.Crew. When I needed “cool” outer wear to impress my friends, who came through? J.Crew. Yup, she has always been there for me with fashionable clothing that keeps me rollin’ in style.

(Remember this bad boy from the mid-’90s? This J.Crew anorak was STYLIN’!!!)

Naturally, I turned to her first for bridesmaid dresses to outfit my special ladies. And faithfully, she provided me with some beautiful dresses. Taffeta, cotton cady, and silk chiffon in a wide array of styles and silhouettes. Colors like light flamingo, fresh mint, tea rose and spiced wine in reasonable prices that made me… WAIT, hold up J.Crew. $225 for a taffeta dress? Since when did you get so pricey, missy?!?

Oh, that’s right. I’d been hanging with J.Crew’s stepsister, Miss J.Crew-Sale Rack. I couldn’t possibly ask my BMs to shell out that much for a dress, so as a result, my relationship with J.Crew was severed. We were officially in a fight.
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Hi, my name is Miss Latte and I have an addiction. It’s the first thing I use in the morning and the last thing I do before going to bed at night. I can’t leave home without it, but just in case I do, I leave stashes of it in random places: in my car, top drawer of my work desk, even in the side pocket of my gym bag.

And it’s no secret. For my birthday last year, instead of a cute bag or sweater, people got me what I really wanted. Yup, I got 5 more to add to my stash.

What is this addictive substance, you ask? It’s this:

OK, so I was being overly dramatic. It’s not illegal or incredibly hazardous to my health, but it might as well be; it’s some powerful stuff. Now this is not your average Chapstick or lip balm. It’s like Chapstick on steroids… it’s got it all. It’s shiny and smooth and gives you that “just glossed” look. It has just the right amount of that minty tingling feeling that every good lip product needs. And it has peppermint oil infused in it so it smells great and leaves your breath minty fresh. Yes, I’ve tried it… it tastes pretty good, too.
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I hate running. I just can’t do it… after a mile and a half, my body hates me and wants to break down. Put me on an elliptical machine and I’ll go for hours. I’ll take an hour-long spinning class that will turn my legs to Jell-O, but run? Uh, no thanks.

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It’s been 3 business days since my STD post, and you know what that means… it’s finally unveiling day!!! After months of racking our brains for a unique STD idea, Mr. Latte and I finally came up with a STD postcard that we thought screamed “us”.

You like?

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When Mr. Latte and I started looking at e-rings, I had a pretty good idea of what I liked and disliked. I knew I wanted a round center stone, and to keep it company, some little buddies on the side.

I thought I was all set… until I started reading posts like this. And this. Wait, what? I have to think about my wedding band sitting flush? I relayed this information to Mr. Latte and gave him some extra things to “consider.” OK, I’ll fess up. I gave him a picture… or two. Maybe more.

(One of the pictures Mr. Latte received.)

Poor Mr. Latte had a hard time finding a ring similar to the one in my picture.
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It’s official, the Lattes are getting married! Our Save the Dates were mailed out today which means that they should be in the hands (or refrigerator doors) of our guests in a couple of days. I can’t wait to share them with you!!! But since snail mail takes some time, I’ll tell you the tale of how they came to be.

Our STDs were months in the making. Actually, even longer if you count the months they were being created in my head. So even before the engagement, I knew that I wanted to do a photobooth style of STD. You know, the ones with the happy couple making silly, but cute faces while holding up signs that have the words “SAVE”, “THE” and “DATE” on them. Very cute and SO very Latte.

Apparently, it’s a pretty popular idea because I started seeing them everywhere. I knew it was a matter of time before someone in my circle of friends and acquaintances would snatch up my precious idea. Every time a STD would show up in my mailbox, I would hold my breath and will it to be anything but a photobooth style card.

So when the time came to make our own, I quickly set up my camera’s automatic timer and forced Mr. Latte to smile… then laugh… then make funny faces as we took shot after shot holding up a large white sign. It did not work.

Exhibit A:

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Much to Mr. Latte’s disappointment (or maybe relief is a better word), he couldn’t get out to the East Coast for the 2nd installment of the big, bad venue search. So, Day 2’s victim? Momma Latte. I dragged poor Momma Latte around town to check out three more venues. Our first stop?

The Central Park Boathouse, New York NY

There is nothing more “New York” than Central Park. And the CPB is located right smack in the middle of it. It’s also right next to the lake, home of the Venetian gondolas, and also where Mr. Latte and I spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other on our first date. The ceremony would be held inside the main ballroom, cocktails would be outside on the terrace, and everyone would come back indoors for dinner. The room itself is beautiful… the dark wood and huge windows just gives it a super romantic feel.

Momma Latte loved it! And apparently, so did everyone else getting married in NYC. Not surprisingly, the CPB books up FAST. They didn’t have our holiday weekend available, but had a couple of nights open later in the summer. I wanted to check with Mr. Latte before making any hasty decisions, so we decided to move on to our next location.

The lakeside terrace

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I love NYC, the “City” (not the new MTV show… well ok yeah, that too). I grew up in small town NJ, about 25 min outside Manhattan. Although I didn’t venture in that much growing up, that all changed when I started attending grad school in the city. I quickly fell in love with the different neighborhoods, the hustle and bustle of the people and OH MAN, the food!!! Food holds a special place in my heart.

And so does Mr. Latte, of course. I love NYC even more because it brings back so many wonderful memories of Mr. Latte and my relationship. We had our first “dates” in the city… watching broadway shows, walking for hours in Central Park and eating at awesome restaurants (see? FOOD! yum).

So when we started thinking of potential venues for our wedding, we toyed with the idea of having it in Boston (where I live) or in the Bay Area (where Mr. Latte lives). And OH the possibilities those two locations would bring! Picture this: a New England wedding on the banks of the Atlantic, with a striped lighthouse and white Adirondack chairs. OR how about this: saying our vows in a small vineyard tucked away in Napa Valley, where the wine runs like water. Sigh. But in my mind, it was NYC all the way.

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I love summer nights in Boston. I love the comfortable temperature, the smell of summer rain and all the fun things to do outside. From free movies on the Esplanade to camping under the stars, we Bostonians know how to take advantage of our short summer months.

My absolute favorite summer evening activity is to take a trip out to the Berkshires. This region in MA is the summer retreat of the Boston Pops Orchestra, where they perform outdoors at Tanglewood. Laying out under the stars hearing the orchestra play beautiful classical pieces is so relaxing and peaceful… and oh-so-romantic! It was my secret dream to get engaged out in Tanglewood. Well, secret until the summer of 2006 when I blurted it out to some friends who came to Tanglewood with me that year. Sigh, me and my big mouth.

Fast-forward 2 years.
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Mr. Latte and I love kids. Many of our friends have children and we’ve been privileged to watch them grow from tiny newborn babies to loveable, huggable kids. Most of them are between the ages of 3 and 5… making them the PERFECT age for flower girls and ring boys!

Now the hard part… which of these kiddies do we ask to be with us on our big day? We finally decided that to be fair, I would ask 2 of my favorite little boys to be our ring boys and Mr. Latte would ask 2 of his favorite little girls to be our flower girls. I’m all about fairness.

The 2 flower girls are twins and will be 3 1/2 years old by our wedding date. They are actually flower girls-to-be, as Mr. Latte hasn’t asked them yet! They are adorable little girls and our wedding would be their flower girl debut. For this reason, I wanted Mr. Latte to give them something special when he asked them. I’m sure they would’ve been perfectly content with a lollipop or a cupcake, but c’mon peeps, those aren’t wedding related! Plus, I was feeling the urge to craft so I decided to make (little) lady versions of my bridesmaids flower ideas…felt flower bouquets!
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Choosing the ladies to stand next to me on my big day was easy. How to ask them, however, was not. These ladies mean a lot to me and have contributed in different ways to my life, so I wanted to do something special and memorable for them. But even after hours of surfing the web, was at a complete loss for a unique idea. So, I did as I always do when I’m online and have nowhere to go (after Weddingbee, of course) and headed to www.paper-source.com.

As I clicked through their collection of Gocco inks and new rubber stamps, I found this:

(paper flower kit)

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Remember those SAT analogies we all despised back in high school? Yeah, I blocked them out of my memory too. C’mon, let’s try one together…

Miss Latte : Mr. Latte ::

(A) East : West
(B) Lunch : Breakfast
(C) Bed Time : Video Game Time
(D) All of the Above

Answer: D

Get it??? This shouldn’t be hard… refer to my previous post for a clue. OK fine, I work in education so to be fair, here’s a bigger clue for you visual folks.

(A card I made for Mr. Latte early in our relationship)

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