First wedding related decision

So after discussing with Steve...I think we've landed on our first decision. I think we're going to wait for Casa Larga - which means that we'll have to wait until May/June 2010 to get married. Although we both kind of want to get hitched before that...we really do have our hearts set on Casa Larga. And besides, if we want to take our Honeymoon in Hawaii, the condo we'll be staying at is only available to us in 2010. My aunt Vivian lives in Hawaii from September to May. She has a little cottage on the lake here in Rochester too, so she's here from May to September - which means her condo in Hawaii is empty in those months. Next year, 2009, she has other family members staying there for the summer, so it's booked.

Staying at her condo for part of our vacation would tremendously reduce the costs of going there. Lucky for us, she won't charge us a penny to stay there. So, if we decide to go there, we could stay at her place for 1 week for free, then island hop to other places. We'd have to pay for island hopping and staying at other hotels, but it's only for a week probably. So, one week for free, and one week paid. Not a bad deal!

At first, we were deciding between Jamaica and Hawaii. Jamaica so we could find some reefer!! But, after thinking about it...we'd be stuck on a resort if we went to Jamaica. They say there's tons to do, but you're limited to the resort. I guess anywhere off the resort can be a bit scary.

AND, I think if we did an all inclusive thing in Jamaica for two weeks, it'd be on the expensive side. More than $5500 I think. So I really think that our best bet would be Hawaii. There are TONS of activities to do, see the sun rise on top of a mountain, ride a bike down the mountain, a zipline course etc. My friend Heather is there on her honeymoon now and this is where I'm getting all of these ideas. They basically booked themselves each day with an activity.

I ended up going to Barnes and Noble to get the wedding planning binder and I got a good one - I think. For $30 it better be good! I took the time too while I was there to pick up a few magazines. Now I don't feel guilty flipping through them! Haha...I went to Mom's house for lunch too on Saturday and we poked through the magazines and chatted about what potential ideas would be. I know my colors will be white and blue. Different shades of blue. I know I want flowers everywhere. I want an arch to stand under when saying our vows that's covered in white and blue flowers. I want an aisle that has flowers petals on either side. I want white chair covers with a blue sash. I want white table linens and blue napkins and blue flowery centerpieces with votives all around it. I know I want Chinese take out containers as favors that will have a mix of fortune cookies with personalized message on the inside and regular sugar cookies. I know I want little umbrellas with name tags on them for people to find what table they will be at. I know I want the table numbers to be in Chinese and English - and maybe not even numbers, but Chinese sayings "love" "fortune" "happiness" "luck" and people will have to match their nametag with whatever is on the tables...not sure yet on that one. I may be giving away too many details, but these are ideas that are flying around my head!

I've asked the wedding coordinator at Casa Larga to let me know available dates in May and June of 2010. If we can get married earlier than later, I'm all for it! I've also requested a tour of the facility again when we're back from camping. Steve is gonna love it! What's so nice about the place is that we'd get the entire place to ourselves. All three rooms will be for just our party, so no random people will be floating around. Plus, there's the back deck that overlooks the vineyards. Amazing.

Ok, so enough wedding talk. Tonight, I'm going to start packing us up, to get ready for camping. I am obviously going to start with the items we have, in the basement and I'm going to start a little pile of stuff we're definitely taking. Air mattress, sheets, comforter, pillows etc. Tent, hammer, all that type of stuff that we don't have to purchase new. Then Wednesday night after work, I'm going to stop at Wegmans and pick up the other stuff, zweigles, cases of pop, water etc. Chips/dip. You know, snacks. We all know we'll have the munchies!

Ok, really, time to get to work! Lots to do today!