Elsja Down Under

My Beautiful Shower August 12, 2010

I have some of the most amazing friends! Last weekend I was truly spoiled at my bridal shower. They did such an amazing job on the design… seriously- why can’t Jen and I go into a party planning business together? A few months ago I didn’t even want a shower. I was in a funk because I wasn’t going to be able travel home in May like I had planned. I thought a shower 3 weeks before a wedding was a bit silly, but everyone said “you HAVE to have a shower.” Then I realized Jen did hers that way as well and it was totally fun. I am SO glad I ended up having one. It was beautiful, fun and delicious. The amazing Alexis cooked up a fancy feast of yummy food and the crepe cake was fabulous. The cake ball or “love pop” favors were heavenly. The sangria?? Well, seeing as how they used my recipe, I HAD to think it was delicious, right? I’m so thankful that my friends and family were willing and able to come celebrate my upcoming wedding with me. I had such a nice day!

Thanks again to everyone who played a part in my AMAZING shower!! For more beautiful photos, CLICK HERE.

Busy Busy August 7, 2010

I know I’m a terrible blogger. I guess that’s what happens when life gets in the way.  I could be writing about all the wedding stuff I’m doing at the moment, but time spent here means less time actually doing the wedding related tasks I so desperately need to do. So instead of daily blogging, you’ll just have to settle for this quick little update.

So a few weeks ago, our friends Kimbo and Stu moved back from South Africa (YAY) and Kimbo threw me a wonderful surprise “kitchen tea.” It was SO nice of her, especially considering she threw it one day after returning from S.A! Thanks again Kimbo and thanks to all the ladies who came out to help celebrate.

John and Kalee’s wedding was last weekend and we had a blast. I wasn’t going to drink too much since I had to fly the next day. Well not only did I do just that, I actually had a worse hangover than I’ve had in a long time. Not so good when you have to get on a plane for 14 hours with a head cold as well.

I spent Monday through Wednesday working all morning with a clogged nose and severe jetlag (aka nausea). Pretty sure that hangover and head cold didn’t set me off on the right foot. It was miserable. Even with that nasty funk I still managed to get  A LOT done this week. Since I’ve been back in CA this week I’ve already met with the caterers at the reception site to finalize the seating arrangements for the wedding. I’ve had my first dress fitting and an appointment with the florist. I’ve been to the gym 3 times, went to dinner twice. I spent two days at my sister’s new condo, went to her pool, went to Wild Rivers, went to a concert in the park. I’ve shopped… a lot. Too bad it’s mostly for stuff I NEED and less for stuff I want.  I spent a night playing Just Dance with Shannon. I saw Eclipse with Jen and Lisa. I caught up with a bunch of friends tonight at a UFC party and tomorrow is my bridal shower!! Oh, did I mention I worked all week as well?

It’s been brutal… but I’m surviving.

The Countdown July 19, 2010

12 days until I take off for California

19 days until my bridal shower

31 days until my bachelorette cruise to Ensendada

40 days until I marry the best guy ever!

Can someone please tell me how on earth I’m supposed to fill my free time after it’s all finished? What am I supposed to think about when I’m on the exercise bike? Wedding planning and thoughts fill my head 80% of the day. I do sense that I’ll be dealing with some serious post-wedding depression when it’s all over.

So many people say “You’ll be happy when it’s over because of all the last minute stress.” I’m kind of hoping that is true because otherwise I might be a miserable married mess… especially when I come back to Sydney and there is no more Masterchef on every night!

The Stress is Setting In July 12, 2010

With only 47 days until the wedding, I am starting feel the stress. The weird thing is- it’s not really WEDDING stress, I just have stress and anxiety about about everything else in life. Work, family hardships, taxes (which wouldn’t be a stress if my so-called Aussie accountant actually did something worthwhile over the last 3+ months) my 2nd stage visa application that is due 1 month after the wedding (only because I thankfully got an extension from the original due date of 2 days after the wedding). Ahh.. it’s all starting to get to me!

Not to mention, I haven’t even practiced my new signature. I spent YEARS of my life practicing the possible signature I would have if I married every boy I dated. I’m pretty sure that’s just what girls do. Well, maybe just the girls who are obsessed with names like I am (I’ve also maintained an ever-changing list of preferred baby names since I was probably 10). So now, 47 days before I actually WILL be changing my name, I still have no idea what my signature will look like. Most people say “Don’t worry, you don’t need to perfect it yet.” To that I say- “When you need to apply for a  new drivers license, visa and passport right away, you kind of do!”

Then there’s the wedding-related stress of planning for all the visitors that will be in CA for the wedding. I know it’s not my job to organize plans for everyone, but I’m a control freak and part of me can’t rest and relax until I know everyone’s schedule.

Did I mention that I can’t seem to get into that mode that nearly all brides get into right before their wedding? You know, the one where they start eating right and working out to help them look great on their wedding day?  I haven’t got there. Of course I do the normal exercise that I always do but I thought some magical motivation would set in by now where I’d feel the need to double my workouts. Yeah that motivation hasn’t really hit me yet.

I’m really trying to enjoy the wedding planning process… but life just seems to be getting in the way at the moment. I sure am looking forward to my bachelorette cruise and pre-wedding massage right about now.

Wedding Update June 24, 2010

I’ve been busy in the last few weeks! Let’s catch you up on all the things I’ve been doing, shall we?

• Tonight Andrew and I finalized our vows and reading for the ceremony
• Centerpiece candles have been purchased
• Main music choices have been made
• Wedding liability insurance was purchased
• First 2 dress fitting appointment are set… yup definitely pushing that close to the big day
• Aussie wedding invites have been sent… US ones will hopefully go out next week
• I’m 96% sure of the hairstyle I want (finally, it only took HOURS of googling to decide)
• We got a videographer!! YAY!
• I’ve NEARLY finalized the main wedding day schedule. Hopefully I’ll be able to send that off to the vendors in a few weeks
• Pre-wedding spa day with my bridal party is all booked
• Bachelorette cruise is booked and paid for- technically my sister did this, but I’ll still cross it off my list

I do think I would be an amazingly organized wedding coordinator

***

Now let’s have a look at some of the unsettled items looming over my head like a black cloud:

• Purchase Andrew’s ring… this is a lot harder than it may sound
• Book wedding night accommodation… why must we pay SO much to sleep in a place for less than 12 hours?
• Purchase the rest of the alcohol. I really can’t do this until we know the final guest count. This is probably the hardest task ever. How on earth do we predict how much our friends and family will drink? Those online calculators don’t seem to be accurate for Australian drinkers.
• Buy a gift for my nephew (the ring bearer). What do I get a 10 year old boy for being in our wedding? Everything online is to sappy, too young or too retarded. I’ll probably just end up getting him some cool toy that he’ll forget about in 6 months.
• Yes… there is more, but I’ll spare you from reading ALL the fine details

Damn that weddingwire website for sending me constant reminders of things I SHOULD be doing. I just don’t want to do it all yet… or ever! On the other hand, bless that site for keeping me in line and completely organized.

Even though there are still so many little things to be done, the good news is that my wedding nightmares seem to have subsided for the time being. With only 2 months to go, I’m sure they will be back shortly.

Winning my Business April 24, 2010

Whatever happened to the days of bargaining, the days of businesses trying to win your business? I feel like people these days just don’t care- which is surprising since so many businesses in the US are struggling right now. Here’s what I’m talking about…

I’ve been calling and emailing around for quotes for transportation for our wedding. We need a bus to take guests from their hotels to the wedding. So I’ve probably contacted about 6 places. So far my range of quotes has been $700 to $1400 (including gratuity). Well, unfortunately the bus we REALLY want is about $1100. In fairness, his original quote was for $889, but that does not include a tip- which is why I did the math in my head to bring it up to  a rough $1100. When I emailed the guy saying we had quotes of $700-800 (inclusive of gratuity) and could he work with us on the price, here was his response:

There is nothing I can about the cost, the prices are set by the owners.

Doing the math I see that we are only about $177.00 higher. Not $400.00.So you have to ask yourself if that is worth going with a professional company with a impeccable safety record or giving up the safety for price. I am pretty sure the people riding on the bus would not advise you to give up their safety at their cost.

There is NOTHING you can do? REALLY? you are in SALES! Isn’t that your job? Can’t you speak to the owners?

And WHAT THE FUDGE is up with him acting like I am putting my guests’ safety in jeopardy by going with ANY other company. Seriously dude, I’m not a moron. All the other companies I’ve talked to have good safety records as well, plus insurance, plus nice buses… etc.

One company gave me a quote of $1200 minimum. I wrote him back right away saying it was way over our budget and we got other quotes from $700-800.

No response.

I guess people really aren’t struggling that badly after all. I guess they all have enough business and they don’t need mine. I guess I’m going to keep searching for someone who cares enough to do a bit of bargaining. I’ll let you all know how it goes.

Disclaimer: There have been a few really nice people who have provided quotes and in the end, I will most likely go with one of them. I just need to feel like people are actually TRYING to win my business, not that they are trying to educate me on why going with other companies will put my guests’ safety at risk. Idiots.

Sick In Sydney February 25, 2010

Back in Sydney, feeling miserable.

My trip to the US was great. I got SO much accomplished for the wedding and now there’s not much more I can do until August. That’s exciting and sad at the same time. The lower stress levels are beneficial, but the fun of planning will be missed. I suppose there are still a few things I can do from Australia, but a majority of it will all come in the last few weeks. Only 6 months to go now!!

My trip to Georgia was awesome as well. I had so much fun spending the weekend in beautiful Roswell with all my friends. It’s rare that we all get together now that we live in 4 different places, so it seems that weddings are the only things that ever bring us all together.

Amanda’s wedding was beautiful! The Clermont lounge was not beautiful. Let me paint a picture for you. The Clermont lounge is where a group of 16 or so of us went on Thursday night. Try to visualize this…a small dive bar, horrible rock band, thick layers of smoke (seriously, get with the times Georgia, why can you still smoke indoors?) and to top it all off… 60 year old strippers! WHAT? Yes, you read that right. There was a complete assortment of strippers from a super skinny tatooed girl to significantly overweight middle-aged girls wearing heinous outfits to a cute little old lady wearing a little red riding hood costume. Weirdest place I’ve ever been. The rest of the weekend was far less weird. The rehearsal cocktail party and wedding were full of much more taste and class (and less smoke), thank GOD!

The only thing that really sucks is that there must have been some funk going around in Atlanta because Shannon, Jen, Alison and I all caught a nasty bug. I haven’t been this sick since well before I met Andrew. I never get sick anymore and I honestly feel like I don’t even know how to respond to this. I feel like the biggest wuss. Will someone please send an un-packing fairy to take care of my luggage that has made it’s home on our living room floor?

Can I Breathe Yet? February 12, 2010

I am always a bad blogger when I come back to California. My life in Sydney is pretty simple and straight forward- I am not a super busy person all of the time. But when I come back for visits I sometimes feel like I have no time to breathe! Why haven’t I blogged lately? Let’s see… in the last 1.5 weeks that I’ve been here, I’ve been busy doing the following:

• Meeting with the florist and deciding on flower budgets
• Creating our wedding website (it’s almost finished)
• Meeting with a baker
• Talking to places about tuxes
• Sending emails to Andrew with pictures of cakes and tuxes
• Ordering our cake
• Buying my wedding shoes
• Buying my wedding jewelry
• Finalizing invitations with my friend/designer
• Attempting to get said invitations printed but still haven’t because kinkos sucks
• Buying paper products for invitations
• Buying wedding bands
• Meeting with the caterer/rental guy to plan out our seating and other venue details
• Meeting with hotel sales managers to organize discounted rooms for our guests
• And lastly… picking up my dress!

Let’s not forget that I was also working, spending time with friends and family, doing dinners and going to gym as well. Yes, I do feel like I’m going to explode. Part of the benefit of having a year long engagement is that you don’t have to rush the planning. Yeah, that’s not really the case in our situation. When I head back to Sydney in a few weeks- that will be the last of my California-based wedding planning until I fly back out in August so I really have to do AS MUCH as possible while I’m here. Rushing around to get everything done in two weeks sort of takes the fun out of some of the planning. It’s not fair, I shouldn’t have to be rushing and feeling this pressure when our wedding is still 6 months away!!

Wedding Update January 24, 2010

With just over 7 months to go, I think we are in pretty good shape with the wedding planning. In all reality, I think I’m way ahead of where some people would be at this stage, but I still feel like there is so much to do. Some things I have NO idea about… like transportation, men’s tuxes and how to do my hair but at least I have most of the big stuff under control. Here’s a little recap on all that we’ve (i.e. I’ve) done to date.

Set the date.    Bought the dress.    Picked the venue.    Booked the caterer and rentals.    Booked the DJ.    Booked the photographers.    Bought the bridesmaid dresses.   Started purchasing accessories.  Reserved a florist.    Nearly finished with the invitation design.    Partially completed our wedding website.    Figured out what we’re doing for favors.    Set up a cake tasting appointment.   Nearly finalized the guest list.    Started looking into blocking hotel rooms for out of town guests.   Got the guest book all sorted out.    Designed the centerpieces.    Picked some of the music.   Wrote out a tentative schedule of  the day.

I still am not sick of it all. I still am not stressed.

I want to plan our wedding forever and ever.

Wedding Nightmares December 8, 2009

Am I the only bride-to-be that has recurring nightmares about our wedding? If there is anything that could ever go wrong with a wedding, I’ve dreamt about it. Here is a list of just some of the nightmares I’ve had (at least all the ones I can remember).

• My hair and makeup is not done when it’s time to walk down the aisle
• Being totally late because I run out of time getting ready
• My dad not showing up to walk me down (I’ve had that one twice, in the most recent one my sister walked me instead)
• Getting to the altar and not knowing who I am marrying. Then when I see the guy he is some unknown nasty man and I get really sad and don’t want to marry him
• Instead of flowers, the florist puts up giant crepe paper daisies… hideous
• My bouquet flowers are the wrong color
• Forgetting to give a schedule to the DJ and caterers so no one knows what is going on
• Forgetting to sort out who will actually be marrying us (luckily someone at the wedding just happens to be authorized to do so)
• Turning into a total bridezilla and actually yelling at people because NO ONE is doing anything
• Having to tell my mom to go sit down because she wants to walk down the aisle after me
• Waking up the day after the wedding and realizing I remember NONE of it and being SO sad that I will never remember our wedding

Andrew thinks I’m crazy- but he also thinks it probably happens to all brides. Maybe I am crazy. If we’ve got 9 months until the wedding and I’m already having these issues, how much worse will it get when I only have 1 month left to plan?

Wedding Mania November 18, 2009

When we first got engaged, I was the crazy obsessed bride. I assume this happens to most girls in the month following the proposal… at least that’s what I hear. I read blogs, checked out The Knot 50 times a day, researched photographers non-stop, called vendors and visited wedding forums. Then once I had planned a few things everything totally died down. I had done about as much as I could do from the other side of the world considering we still had a year until the wedding so I needed to chill out a bit. 

Well, once I got back to California, obsession took over again. I met with the caterer Friday and had a tasting. My mom filled in as my surrogate fiance (and as the designated beef taster) and I was really happy with the food. I’m pretty sure we’ll put a deposit on that in the next couple of weeks. I also was able to visit the residence where we’ll be having the wedding as well. I’ve been there a million times but it was nice to see it again with fresh wedding eyes. The DJ came and met me there so he could scope out the setting and determine the equipment he’ll need to bring. In person I am so happy with how I THINK it will turn out. If it ends up how I imagine, it will be beautiful.  

Lastly, I finally got to experience the most exciting bridal task of all – dress shopping!! I really struggled to find anything I liked at first but then I found two dresses I LOVE. They are both beautiful in different ways. They look NOTHING like each other so I really have to decide what type of look and feel I want to go for. I found them Saturday when  I went shopping with my mom, sister and perfect little niece. I was so torn between the two that I went back tonight with my best friend Jen. Yeah, the 2nd trip didn’t make it much easier. I’m still so torn although I am thinking one is starting to take a slight lead over the other. I  know so many girls try on a dress and just KNOW that it’s the right one. Well I got that feeling, but with 2 dresses. How do I pick one without wondering for the next 9 months if I made the right decision??  

I seriously love planning our big day. I will be so happy to marry Andrew yet so sad when the day is over. Kinda like the day after Christmas when you know you have a whole year before you get to celebrate another one. That’s how I’ll feel times 10 because I’ll never get to plan a wonderful wedding where I get to marry my wonderful love ever again. Then what will I have to look forward to?? Please don’t say babies. Waking up 6 times a night to a screaming, pooping baby is not nearly as fun as deciding on centerpieces.

Registry Events October 14, 2009

Andrew and I most likely will not be registering for gifts for the wedding. You see we have this challenge… if we register in the US, we have to find a way to get all the gifts back to Australia. If we register in Australia, no one in the US will be able to order the gifts online because ONLINE SHOPPING SUCKS HERE!

This makes me oh so sad. For years I’ve dreamed of walking around my favorites home good stores with one of those scanner guns selecting everything I’ve ever wanted! Anyone who knows me knows that I’d MUCH rather go on a shopping spree in Crate and Barrel or Pottery Barn than Nordstroms or the Gap. But no… no registry for us.

Lately I’ve discovered yet another reason to be bummed about this… REGISTRY PARTIES! OMG I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve received from Macy’s, Crate and Barrel and Bloomingdales all asking me to join them for these awesome registry events. My most recent invite states “Scan your registry, sip wine, sample savory hors d’ouevres and indulge your sweet tooth with cake tastings. Take in bridal fashion and take home a fabulous gift bag. No purchase necessary.”

Um… yes please.

A night eating, drinking and shopping for housewares without spending a penny? It’s like my dream come true. Even if I don’t expect to get any gifts off of a registry, can I still just show up to these events and enjoy free food all while creating my dream registry? I could just scout out every event for the next year and every time I’m back in CA I’ll show up at the store using a different alias and createa new regsitry. It could be so fun, but it could also be quite depressing when I realize I won’t actually be getting any of the stuff I register for. At least there would be free wine.

Wedding Update September 7, 2009

Ok so I try not to make this blog all about wedding stuff. People would probably just get really bored reading about that all the time; however, by attempting to avoid the wedding talk, all I’m doing is avoiding blogging all together- and that’s no fun!

So screw it… I’m going to update everyone on our wedding plans! Here’s what we’ve (i.e. I’ve) done to date…

1. Set the date- Aug 28th, 2010!!

2. Picked the venue (a.k.a. our awesome family friends’ home)

3. Created the guest list

4. Picked the color scheme

5. Found bridesmaid dresses that I love

6. Booked the DJ

7. Booked the photographers (I’m so excited that these guys will be our photographers. I LOVE their artsy style)

8. Got some catering quotes

9. Planned ideas for flowers and talked to a florist

10. Gathered up all my crafty, creative and artsy friends to help design invitations, centerpieces and other decor

11. Pretty much have the favors all sorted out

Wow… I’m going to run out of stuff to do. Does anyone else need my help with planning their wedding? Evidently I’m really good at it!

A Few Updates August 18, 2009

My life has suddenly become so exciting, and yet so boring at the same time. Exciting because I have all this wedding stuff swimming around in my brain and it’s exciting to plan and organize and browse websites looking for ideas. It’s boring, because other than that- I fee like I have hardly anything else to discuss!! So… I’ll just give a tiny brief wedding update and then I’ll try to find something else to talk about

• We’re 95% set on the location- just need to figure out a few logistics, but hopefully we’ll know for sure by Wednesday
• This means we’re also 95% sure on the date… if all goes well it will be 8.28.10
• I decided on a color scheme and hopefully bridesmaids dresses as well
• We’re pretty set on our guest list

Now on to other news…

This weekend was spectacular in terms of weather! Here’s what we did on Sunday:

Andrew, our friend Ben and I went down to Balmoral and had an impromptu picnic. It was such nice weather- we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sit in the sun for a bit. The beach was packed and we didn’t feel like getting sandy so we sat on the grass and ate our little picnic lunch. Sinead met us down there as well and it was great to catch up. Not bad for a winter’s day!!

Lastly I decided to finally update my 101 list seeing as how I haven’t updated it in FOREVER. Here are a few things I’ve accomplished over the last few weeks:

#20- Get engaged… YAY!!

#11- Got 5 people to create a 101 list

Here are a few of them but I apologize that I cannot remember them all – Daisy , Laura, Natasha (no more blog?), Ruthann and there’s one more… someone please remind me who you are

#76- create a signature cocktail… remember my Grapelberry Fizz? That counts, right?

#93- get renter’s insurance- FINALLY! Only took us nearly 2 years of living here!!

I’m well on my way with a few other tasks as well… so hopefully I should have a few more to cross off in the coming months!