A Few Good Things

Hello lovelies.

It has been a long 10 days since I had anything exciting to post, and really that was mostly due to the amount of time available. Good things have continued to happen, however, albeit one venue hiccup. Well, I would call it a hiccup, Alex has used stronger language. You see, the hotel that has been our scheduled wedding venue, The Marina Villa Hotel in Fowey, was up for sale (apparently it was mentioned once when we were looking at it)--and, well, today a sale went through on the hotel to turn it into a B&B. In short, the changing of the owners means a changing of interiors which means construction in April which means a changing of venue for our wedding.

Maybe I'm glossing over how perfectly we felt this venue fit our wedding--its snazzy interiors, top notch food, deal of a corkage fee and meters upon meters of deck on the river. And, well, maybe this is just fate playing its part. You see, there are two other hotels we have looked at and can look at again for our wedding ceremony, this time with a different view and different expectations. One which might offer a larger room for the ceremony (bonus as the guest list keeps growing) and one offereing a more central spot on the river, and really it's a matter of changing our perspective on what we want. We haven't yet officially spoken with the manager of the Marina Villa Hotel yet, but given that the village is so small, he relied the already worried about news concerning the sale of our perfect wedding venue. The other upside is that given again that the village is so small, he might be able to pull a few strings for us. The result of that conversation you can be assured I will tell you.

Aside from venue unknownness, we have confirmed our reception venue of Gallants Sailing Club (woot!), met with our potential (and likely) photographer today (will explain soon), and I've picked up my wedding dress from alterations!

Today John Walmsley of Cornish Wedding Photography came to the house for a meet-up and chat about generally wedding photo stuff. He was absolutely wonderful. We had a good hour chat with him in the sitting room over tea, coffee and cheese, chatting about what the plans were for the day, taking another look at his portfolio (this time in the print), and getting to know a little about each other really. John is a landscape photographer, but as he so honestly put it, taking pictures of mountains don't pay the bills; weddings, on the other hand, do. What this does mean though is that the gorgeous scenery of Fowey will captured along with us on our wedding day, and the guy knows his lighting. We haven't officially booked him yet, pending a conversation with the parents, but for Alex and I--he's a go.

In wedding attire news, I picked up my dress this last week from Luella's Boudoir where the fabulous Kat did my hemming and strap alterations and I can tell you, I haven't been so excited about my dress since I bought it! I mean, I didn't buy it that long ago, and yet the excitement came bubbling up again! I'm absolutely in love. Also, for those who may not know about the veil debate (will be posting on SYE about it soon, so Alex won't see), I've decided on the no-veil route and ordered a lovely purple flower broach for my hair! So hoping I love it as much when it arrives from the Etsy vendor Mollusa. Look:

I'm also currently looking for necklace ideas, but they'll come too... Oh! I didn't tell you the best part of my hair piece: My brother and Best Bro, Paul, (along with his girl, Katie) found it for me online! He truly knows the way to help me perfect my 'look.' And, in case you were wondering, I will write about Alex's outfit when it comes together (and about much of it as I can know), but a trip to Brighton and Gresham Blake has yet to be made...

In other fun news:

• Alex's wedding gift arrived in gorgeous condition from an etsy vendor. (Yes, I'll write about it after the day!)
• Martha Stewart Wedding, Winter 2010 featured their first gay wedding!
• Washington DC passed gay marriage!
• Alex received Christmas cards from BOTH her grandmothers addressed to BOTH of us. (My G'ma and fam are cool, but we weren't so sure about Alex's grandmas--this is the first time Grannie's written my name!)
• Alex completely spoiled me for my birthday weekend on Saturday/Sunday--a whole day out of food and fun, lots of very thoughtful, London-themed presents (including Burberry 'The Beat' perfume--Yay!), and pink bubbly with friends at a local pub!

And in case you missed our faces:

Adorable photo of us on my birthday-celebration day

Another Version of Our Story

For our website, Alex and I wrote another version of 'our story'. I might read it occassionally read it when I want to feel snuggly so I thought I'd share:

Lovefest: The Origins: or, How We Finally Fell in Love

Well, we'll start at the beginning...

We met in our second year of college at UC Santa Cruz in the classic way that couple's meet: through our friends. At the time, Erica was working for Kresge College and Alex was friends with everyone who was working for Kresge College. Erica's first memory is of Alex in her red pleather tail coat at a Kresge event, where Alex didn't pay attention to her. Alex's first memory is queueing up with Erica for the Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, where Erica didn't pay attention to her.

Alex was at once fascinated and intimated by Erica's awesomeness...and the crush began. Of this crush, Erica was unaware: second year was BUSY, and then she left for Ireland.

Third year went by in Ireland (e) and the Brommer House (A). Summer came and went. Alex and Erica re-met at a bonfire on the beach in September--although Alex was more taken by Erica's Irish boots than anything else. They became proper friends this time through bonfires, nights out on Pacific Avenue, and times with the 'Kresge Crew/Kids'.

Then we graduated. Erica needed a place to live in the fall for her last quarter at UCSC and Alex decided to stay in Santa Cruz until Christmas. So Erica moved in to the Ocean St. House in September with Alex, Christy and Mallory (taking Corinne's old room). Well, thank goodness.

So, when did we FINALLY fall in love, you might ask?

For Alex, it was snuggled up on a couch reading short stories to one another; doing the New York Times Monday crossword puzzle; and the cincher was dancing in the kitchen to Nina Simone.

For Erica, she knew it best when one fall morning she woke up and couldn't think of anything else but "She's the one."

Now how we managed to stay together across an ocean, living in a trailer, working in a pub, getting into post-graduate programmes and moving countries is a whole OTHER story you can just ask us for at the wedding...

Not Entering Panic Mode

If you could see the state of our house right now, you'd either think two things: 1) Look at those piles! They must be planning a wedding! or 2) How could they possibly have time to plan a wedding!? Well, both are true. To say that April has been far from our minds would be a lie, but the amount of time we get to spend thinking about it sure is limited. That said, here's the latest:

On Saturday, my friend Julie and I went to my dress fitting at Luella's Boudoir in Wimbledon Village. It was definitely an experience to be pampered and doted upon by the women who work there (who were lovely, and who loved my dress--double yay). They even got me to try on a veil, the reaction of which was not expected. If you're interested in the variations of said veil, click here (Alex has promised not to look as you can also see my dress). While it was fun to play dress-up-bride for part of it, it was also a bit shocking and, to be honest, not really 'me.' Definitely leaning more towards something like a purple fascinator or flower for me hair I think! (Maybe something like this or this.)

On the photographer front, Alex and I both got to talk on the phone to a Cornish photographer we found online: John Walmsley of Cornish Wedding Photography. After searching and looking through loads of portfolios from photographers in Cornwall, Devon and the London area, we really wanted to stay local--and we liked John's photojournalistic style best. We're set to meet him at his over the Christmas break to chat a bit and make any final decisions (i.e. whether to book him or not!). I'm really looking forward to meeting him in person, and hopefully being able to check off 'photographer' off our list with ease and confidence!

Speaking of ease and confidence, we've also found out this week that our wedding ceremony venue, the Marina Villa Hotel, has had an offer made on it to buy it and turn it into a B&B. (Alex apparently knew it was up for sale; I did not.) It would probably be fine if they were leaving it as is, but it sounds like if the deal goes through, the hotel will be under B&B-rennovations in April. Construction=no wedding venue. Not all hope is lost (although Alex was quite peeved for a bit) as nothing is final yet, and there are still other options for us to get married on the river in Fowey (just not as perfect...)

Not to end on a bummer note, have I mentioned recently how much I love Etsy? Seriously, they should pay me for all the advertising I do (hint hint). This week's Etsy wonderfulness:

• My earrings (for california--and maine) arrived in the mail and I absolutely adore them!
  
• Alex's wedding present is officially ordered.
  
• AND...our wedding ring designer 'would be truly thrilled to create a set of bands for you for such a great occasion.' Jesse Danger = rockin'. He even quotes Frank Lloyd Wright on his profile...

130 days til we're hitched! (Oh wow, now that's a reality check for ya.)

Speech for Marriage Equality from NY Senate Floor

Another let-down this week for marriage equality. And yet, people like NY State Senator Diane Savino still give me hope.

(Thanks to Dorothy Snarker for posting the video)

"If there's any threat to the sanctity of marriage in America, it comes from those of us who have the privelege and the right, and we have abused it for decades...We have nothing to fear from peopl who are committed to each other, who want to share their lives and protect one another in the event of sickness, illness or death. We have nothing to fear from love and committment." - NYS Sen. Diane Savino

We have nothing to fear, but fear itself. - FDR

More on this later, as Alex and I let this all soak in...

Love & Gratitude

Hello folks--we're back! After a week of Thanksgiving madness and joy, Alex and I are resuming our normal, already-hectic lives. And yet while much food and sugar were consumed in the last week, we've also been up to quite a lot of wedding-y things!

First of all, for anyone who is considering email Save the Dates, let me tell you--it's the coolest thing ever! Aside from the dozen or so emails that will bounce back, the immediate connection with friends and family--near and far--about your big day is such a thrill! Alex and I kept checking our email and watching the counter on our website (mywedding.com) to see the amount of visits rise! The boost in wedding buzz did us girls some good.

As I am spending many hours in front of my computer these days (yes, more than usual--and that's saying something) my mind has gone off and wandered over to many places, the old and new favorites being Etsy and Rock n' Roll Bride. All was not in vain, however, as I am finalizing the details on Alex's wedding gift (no, I'm not telling), we may have officially, finally found our wedding rings (more in a minute!), and I now truly know the meaning of the blogger term 'wedding porn' (thank you, Off-Beat Bride for that, too!).

Rings? Sorry, did I say something about rings? OH, I did. And no, we've decided not to have diamonds (champagne, recycled, conflict-free, eco-friendly, or otherwise). Check out "Love is on the inside:"


So, where did I find it? Etsy, of course. And this lovely ring is made by the guy with the coolest name: Jesse Danger. (And if you click over to his shop, yes, we are getting the dragonfly wing necklace and ring, too.) This is the description of this sterling silver and rose gold ring goes like this:

"The silver on the outside has a clean and modern look that will take on its own unique finish as it wears over time, while the inside remains true to the day it was first made..."

*Melt.* Gorgeous. Meaningful. Our two favorite metals. One ring to symbolize our continuous committment to each other. No diamonds that are 'forever,' but not really us. (We can save those for birthdays, maybe anniversaries, we think.) Nothing crazy out of our budget. Oh yeah, and did I mention all the materials are recycled? Yes, we are just a little bit in love.

The other fabulous news is that we may have found our UK photographer! More updates on that soon, but we spoke with John from Cornish Wedding Photography on Sunday night and we think it's going to be a fit!