The Engagement Session At Stinson [Teaser]

So, like I said, I won a free engagement photo session and so we decided to go to Stinson Beach. Stinson is one of my favorite places [in the world!] and since we will be having another engagement session with our [wedding] photographer in San Francisco, we figured that Stinson was the next best place!Last Saturday, we got all dolled up and we headed over to the cold and windy beach in the North Bay. We met with the photographers, there were two and one of them brought their wife to assist with lighting, and we got to posing!

At first it was a little awkward! Fortunately, as the shoot progressed, we got a little more comfortable with the camera and we ended up having a blast! 2 hours later, we were cold and our faces hurt from all of the smiling, we headed back to San Francisco for a cozy night in!

I am expecting all of the photos to be done in about 2 weeks, so you can imagine my surprise when I got 4 "teaser" photos! And there were definitely a tease! Now I am anxiously awaiting the rest of them!!

The Bridal Fairs

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

So I have only been engaged, now, for about 4 months and I have been to at least 8 bridal shows! I drag my mom along and we have traveled all over the Bay Area to meet vendors and get fun ideas! We paid to go to the first one, and since then, I have gotten free tickets to all of the rest! So Exciting!

We went to the first bridal show at the beautiful Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. It was so stimulating, with so many people, many different colors and so many different options for everything! We grabbed champagne and trekked around the 3 different show rooms filled with different types of vendors!

Among the cake tastings and the champagne flutes, I signed up at every table to win what they were giving away! The first thing I won was at a stationary vendor. I won a bottle of Champagne! It was really exciting! I never win anything! Apparently, my luck would change that day because I also signed up to win a free engagement photo session, and I DID! I also signed up with this healthy living table and I won a free 4day 3night stay in an all inclusive tropical resort, PLUS a shopping spree PLUS shopping at a local grocery store! It was ALL so exciting!!

There are no more bridal fairs this year, so I will have to wait until next year when they start up again! By that time, Rich will be around, so he will be able to join me! They are all so fun and I would recommend going to them!

picture

The Dress

I got engaged right around Christmas time which gave everyone the great gift idea of wedding books and magazines! I have read more wedding books than I can count and purchased way too many magazines (for any and all ideas)..they are all just so fun!

I began the wedding process by looking at dresses in magazines and on wedding websites. I absolutely fell in love with a dress that I saw in a bridal magazine layout. After seeing the dress, I immediately went to the website and saw that the designer line was having a trunk show! I looked up locations for the designer, and low and behold, there was a salon located in downtown San Francisco!

I gathered up my mom and my MOH and we headed over to the salon on a Friday night at the end of January [yes, I know - I started early!]. I spotted the dress I liked in the magazine right away, grabbed it, but wanted to give some other dresses and styles a chance. I fell in love with was the second dress I tried on, and OF COURSE, it was the one from the magazine layout! It is absolutely the dress of my dreams! It is totally my style and is flattering to my figure in every way!

The three of us left the store and headed over to Kulettos [one of my favorite restaurants] to have some dinner and drinks and think about the dress...the more time I (and we all) thought about the dress, the more we loved it! The next day, Saturday, we bought the gown!

The following week, the three of us went back to the salon and I was fitted for the muslin (the slip that will be the blueprints for when the gown is made)! The muslin should be arriving in the beginning of May and I will be fitted once again and then the dress will be made and everything will start moving along!

<Update>

When I was in the store, I tried on an off white version of the gown. My heart is set on a white dress for my big day so we are getting the dress in white. Last week, I got an envelope in the mail from the salon and was wondering what it was for. I assumed it was just a bill or something. I opened the envelope and I was surprised to find a swatch of the fabric of the gown and in the color that I am getting!

I AM SO EXCITED!

dress sketch

The Party

I am so happy and proud to say that I have asked my bridal party and I couldn't be happier! I can't wait to spend the next 16months planning my special day with my favorite people!

I stewed about how to ask my Bridesmaids and my Maid of Honor for a LONG time (well to me, it was a long time!) and I finally came up with a fun, creative way that really showed who I am and who I am with my favorite people! I made a collage of two pictures and a poem that reminded me of each of my lovely friends. I also wrote a long letter/note reminding them (and myself) of our fun times together and how much each beautiful woman means to me and how much each of them have shaped the woman I am today.

Maid of Honor: Friend!

I am so lucky to have you as my Best Friend! Thank you for being my other half! I lovoodle yoodle!


Bridesmaid: Christine!

You have always been my rock and the sunshine in my life! You are the best and I love you!


Bridesmaid: Shmu!

Where do I even begin?! You are the most smiley and genuine people I know and I am so lucky to have you by my side! I heart YOU mucho grande!

Bridesmaid: Laura!

You have always been the life and fun in my life! You are always such an inspiration to live life to the fullest and I can't wait to share my special day with you!! You're the best and I love you!


Flower Girls: Chiarra and Bianca!
The two most beautiful girls I know! You both know that I think of you as my sisters!


Ring Bearers: Sam and Daniel!
The two best little brothers ANY girl could ask for! I am so excited to have you dressed to impress and to share my special day with me! I love you more than you will ever know!

My Special Friend: Melissa!

This past year has been the best year of my life and I attribute most of it to you! You have truely been the most amazing woman and I want nothing more than to share my special day with you! I love you!

The Proposal

It was about 10pm on Saturday, December 12th, 2009 when he says to me, "Let's go to Crissy Field." I begin to give him directions to the beach where we shared our first kiss on July 28th, 2008. While driving over the Bay Bridge, he was saying only beautiful things to me to make me smile and become a little nervous about what was to come :-)

We pulled into the parking lot at Crissy Field-to sit in the car for about 20 minutes before the rain subsided. We got out of the car and walked onto the beach and into the sand, hand in hand. He held me in his arms while we admired the beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge, lit up, in the darkest part of the night, without fog to obstruct our view. It was chilly but that didn't matter because I was in the arms of a man who makes me the happiest I have ever been.

It started to drizzle after about 10 minutes of reminiscing about our first date, laughing and smiling. We decided to walk back to the car, holding hands, because of the rain, when he stopped and said, "Before we go..." I turned around and he was down, in the sand, on one knee. Still holding my hand, he said, "Will you marry me?" He pulled out a box with a beautiful ring inside. I gasped and got down on my knees to hug him and whisper in his ear, "Of Course!" It began to pour while we were hugging in the sand at Crissy Field; so he picked me up and ran with me in his arms back to his car!

He came prepared with Champagne and we drove back to my house and toasted to a long life ahead of us...together.

It was the most romantic experience I have ever had! I can't wait for all that is to come! I love love love him!

picture

I'm ENGAGED!!

My Sweeter proposed to me last night in the beautiful City that has stolen both of our hearts and holds most of my fondest memories with him! I couldn't be happier! yay yay yay yay!

I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with this amazing man!!!!

Cirque Du Soliel

If any one has the opportunity to see the Cirque du Soliel, you all ABSOLUTELY should! It really doesn't matter which show you see, they are all fabulous and magical!

My entire family was supposed to go; however, my brothers both came down with something, my mom wasn't feeling too well and my step-dad was tired from traveling to London for work earlier in the week. So, my step-dad stayed home with my brothers and my mom came out into the city because she was NOT about to miss out on the show!

One of my very close friends took one of our extra tickets. We took BART downtown and stopped at the Boulevard Restaurant. We ordered some new and fun drinks to try off of their cocktail menu and ordered a couple of appetizers. We got the Crab Salad and the Goat Cheese and Beet Ravioli. The ravioli was outstanding! I would not order the crab salad again...it was tasty, but I am sure there was something on the menu that we could have had :-) It was a little over priced but it was pretty tasty, nonetheless. I really liked the ambiance in the restaurant :-) We ended up sitting at the bar and the bartender was very nice and attentive to us.



I think that it is a restaurant to go to for a fun date night, knowing that you will be spending a little bit of money.

We then headed over to the fun yellow and blue striped tents that houses the Cirque and went in for the show! The show that is touring in San Francisco this season is Ovo, the life of bugs. The costumes were incredible and so detailed. I absolutely loved the show and I recommend it to anyone and everyone! All ages and all people! It is amazing and you will NOT be disappointed!

On off peak times, Monday- Thursday Night (I think), they offer student discounts. If you have a student ID, take advantage of it! The tickets are still a little pricey, but I can't say it enough, that it is TOTALLY worth it!

You're HOW old?!

My mom just had a birthday on Monday and to celebrate we went Wine Tasting in Napa with a couple of her friends! It was so much fun! We rented a Limo from home and toured the wine country all morning and into the early afternoon!

The morning started out with my mom running and yelling through the house that it snowed on her birthday! It was so cold at our house that it snowed at least an inch! We both got ready in her bathroom while giggling and catching up a little from our busy weekends :-)

Her two friends showed up at the house and then the limo arrived and we hopped in, opened a bottle of champagne...what a way to travel :-)

Our first stop was at Domaine Carneros-Tattinger. The place was gorgeous! It was a beautiful day in Napa which made the entire day amazing! We got inside and sat down around a fireplace-unfortunately it wasn't lit, but it was such a cozy little spot! We tasted their sparkling wines and had a cheese platter. It sure was tasty!

When we were there, my mom was mentioning that it was her birthday and this older woman sitting at a table near us asked her how old she was...it was at that point that I decided to play a game :-) I asked the woman how old she thought my mom was (without saying "mom") and she guessed UNDER 30! We all were shocked and of course my mom was flattered! I asked the woman if she was serious and she changed her mind and said early 30's! I finally told her that she was my mom and the woman was in SHOCK! It was hilarious! I think my mom liked the game! We played it at the other wineries we stopped at.

After Tattinger, we went to Treffethen Family Vineyards. We tasted almost all of their wines--I really like this place! Its beautiful inside and I like their wines, a lot :-)

outside :-) The fountain had ornaments in it :-)
inside is just gorgeous! that tree is up year round :-)

After Treffethen, we went out to lunch. The woman who worked at Treffethen recommended Redd's. It was soo good! We all ordered something from the menu and shared each dish! My favorite, and the dish I ordered, was the butternut squash and pumpkin ravioli. Oh my gosh! They were heaven in my mouth! SOO TASTY! We also ordered the Tuna and hamachi tartar, the lettuce cups, and the pork buns. Each dish was different, beautifully plated and so tasty!

After lunch we made one more stop at Domaine Chandon. The grounds at this winery were absolutely stunning! We just bought a bottle of Champagne for the limo drive home. Inside the winery was beautiful and big and ful of windows! It was beautiful!

I hope that my mom enjoyed her birthday! She is an amazing woman who deserves to have everything beautiful and happy in the world! I love her and I am so happy that I was able to spend her special day with her!