One Foot Forward

Five weeks before my wedding I broke my baby toe. It didn't occur while skydiving, or jet skiing, or hiking Mount Mckinley, but while running through my apartment after my cat. This is definitely my most terribly timed break--it beats the fractured wrist before the middle school dance and the broken right arm in the beginning of a college semester as a teacher's assistant.

As I sat in the doctor's office, staring at the x-rays in disbelief, I felt miserable. My mind raced with panicked thoughts of canceled honeymoons and danceless wedding receptions (I know, looking back it could have been a lot worse). When the doctor brought out the air cast--a large, black boot covered with velcro straps, similar in looks to a ski boot--my heart fell. I'm sure the look on my face read, "Please don't tell me I have to wear this thing under my wedding dress." The doctor was understanding, yet firm. If I wanted my foot to heal correctly, I must wear the boot. Regular healing time? Six to eight weeks.

It's been three weeks since the break (two until the wedding!) and I just got word today that I can move from the boot to a hospital shoe. Now, the hospital shoe is not a fashion forward item. It's only offered in one color, doesn't have any embellishments--no bows, sequins, or swarovski crystals, and there's no heel whatsoever. I am stuck in this for at least another few days and then I might be able to upgrade to a sneaker. No heels allowed for the wedding and sneakers are called for throughout the honeymoon (will Paris allow me in wearing sneakers???).

Needless to say, this has been a frustrating ordeal. I realize that it could be worse and I'm thankful to be on the mend. I'm not ecstatic about finding new shoes for the wedding. It took me months to find a pair that I liked and now I must begin the search again. Give me a shout if you know of any great places to find comfortable, stylish flats!

The Dance Gene

Years ago, a 95-year-old man asked me to dance at a wedding and halfway through the song he insisted we stop.

“You have two left feet!” He said and turned to find another, more rhythmic dance partner.

Unfortunately for me, he was right. Even though I took cello, flute, and piano lessons at various points growing up, and wasn’t terrible at any of them, it appears that I’m unable to learn rhythm when it comes to my feet.

I’ve always hated dancing. Well, let me clarify that statement. I’ve always hated dancing near other humans. I feel fine dancing around my apartment alone—arms flailing Elaine Benes-like, feet jumping up and down, tripping over each other every so often, teeth firmly planted in lower lip. I’m just not convinced the world needs to see that side of me.

When I met Mr. Cathedral Heights, I was happy to find out that he didn’t care for dancing either. With a bit of disbelief, he embraced the fact that I was missing that girly desire to go out dancing or, “the dance gene,” as he calls it.

Nope, I never feel the need to join a bunch of gals, get dressed up, and shake my booty in a club filled with sweaty people, booming music, and flashing lights. Of course, there were times when I would follow my girlfriends into dance clubs, attempting to mimic their moves on the dance floor but instead over-analyzing every awkward movement my body made.

I tried to think of a way out of the whole dancing segment of the wedding, but couldn’t come up with anything. I remember my brother once saying that if he ever got married there would be a no dancing policy strictly enforced at his wedding, but somehow that just didn’t seem realistic for my upcoming nuptuals. So, I am going to have to dance. In front of 150 people!

Mr. CH and I signed up for social dance classes at the Joy of Motion Dance Center, in hopes that this will help make the first dance a little less painful (for Mr. CH’s feet). We’ve attended two classes so far and I’m already convinced that I’m the worst student of the bunch and holding the entire class back. However, through all the self-criticism, I have to admit that I’m having a good time trying to get in touch with my feet. If I can improve a bit—and figure out how to let Mr. CH lead—I think I might have fun on that dance floor.

rsvp frustration

battle #1:

mr uva and i invited 167 people to the wedding with the hope that we would have 150 guests or fewer. with our big families, this meant that a lot of "and guests" were not included - only for those people who were engaged or living together. since invitations have gone out, i have noticed that mr. uva and i have some bold friends and family members - "can i bring my boyfriend?", "my girlfriend and i will see you in july"...seriously!? it's a little bit shocking that people would openly ask. the alternative, however, is that they might just show up at the wedding and we'll have to make room for these "and guests".

battle #2:

mr. uva and i have been engaged for over 2 years now. and the wedding date has not been a surprise. we've had july 3rd scheduled for a long while, which is why it was quite a surprise when several family members let us know that they weren't going to be coming. if 2 years isn't enough notice, i must have some seriously "in-demand" family members. i'm trying not to take it personally, but it makes me sad to know that these family members feel like they a)have more important things to be doing or b)don't feel like sharing in our big day and spending time with family is important enough for a trip to c'ville.

of course the festivities will be wonderfully fun no matter who shows up...just a little pre-wedding stress, right?

Bridal Detox

Recently, while perusing the usual wedding websites, I stumbled across an advertisement for a bridal detox program. It consisted of mysterious, colorful drinks, as though straight out of Alice In Wonderland, promising to decrease my dress size and weight in an extraordinary amount of time for the low price of over 500 dollars. Call me a cynic, but ads like this one immediately raise my suspicion. Is it healthy to lose a significant amount of weight in a short period of time? Must I spend so much money and consume strange, toxic-looking concoctions? I’m all for being healthy and looking great on the big day, but I don’t agree with getting so skinny that your relatives no longer recognize you.

I hate dieting. I wish I could lose my belly and tone my arms and butt by eating pasta and drinking wine. However, I’m forced to resort to exercise and…cue Jaws soundtrack…eating healthy food. I’m adapting to the first part more easily than the second. Since I was laid off, I have a bit more time for exercise and have managed to incorporate about three days of jogging, spinning, or elliptical training per week for the past three weeks. Mr. CH and I have also been working on eating smaller portions and more vegetables, a somewhat successful effort. I’ve been making us salads for dinner twice a week, mixing them up with ingredients such as dried cranberries, walnuts, blue cheese, artichoke hearts, garbanzo beans, and other items that offer a little flavor to enhance the lettuce, tomato, green peppers, and cucumbers. Now we just have to work on not consuming an entire roll of French bread with our salads!

So far, the scale isn’t telling me much but I feel better, my face looks a little thinner (that seems to be the first place I lose weight), and my clothes aren’t quite as snug as they were a month ago. Mr. CH and I signed up for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, to provide us a goal that would help motivate both of us and raise money for a good cause. Unfortunately, Mr. CH is extremely busy at work right now and he has been trapped there during lunch and late at night, which puts a damper on extra energy to go running.

A friend of mine who got in great shape before her wedding recommended Suz’s Couch to 5k running podcasts —compilations of hip hop music with a narrator who instructs you when to walk and when to run. Week one starts with short runs followed by long walks and she slowly builds you up to mostly running by week nine. I’m on week three and finding it incredibly helpful and motivating. Now I just have to stick with this!

How do you find motivation to eat healthy and exercise?

BRIDES Magazine- June Issue

Check out these highlights from the June issue of BRIDES magazine, on newsstands TODAY:

Check out the new look of BRIDES: The editors have given the magazine a little mini-makeover this month. Look out for new typefaces and layouts—as well as an updated voice that looks at a wedding as both a modern celebration and a timeless ritual In our updated Buzz section, you’ll find all kinds of timely and seasonal information – this month, it’s nail polish that smells like bubble gum, a Lady Gaga-inspired wedding dress, and more (p 57 – 66)

The editors of BRIDES (and our readers!) tested products galore in the BRIDES 2010 Beauty Awards to find the best brands to give any bride that wedding-day wow factor. We feature the top honors in makeup, hair, skin and fragrance (p 101)

We tell you how to have no regrets on your wedding day: Real brides share their wedding mistakes – so brides-to-be can have a regret-free day (p 116)

You wouldn’t believe the wacky things you can rent for your wedding day – hot-dog cart anyone? Check out our fun list of things that can spice up your special day (p 120)

BRIDES has great ways to celebrate your wedding at any age – from dresses, to beauty tips and planning advice (p 180)

Enter our BRIDES Operation Dream Dress contest: Create America’s most beautiful wedding gown. Submit a sketch of a wedding dress that illustrates this year’s “cutting-edge classic” theme and you could win $10,000 and will see your dress on the cover of BRIDES, and sold nationwide by David’s Bridal. Visit OperationDreamDress.com to enter (p 34)

For these stories and more, check out the June issue of BRIDES, on newsstands May 11

I Do or I Don't?

I’m beginning to cherish the things that I just don’t care about.

I’m continually amazed by all the decisions that go into planning a wedding, and as someone who gets anxious about deciding what to choose for dinner just for myself, I wasn’t thrilled about deciding what 150 of our friends and families will be eating for dinner. So, during the tasting for our reception dinner at the Marriott Key Bridge, I was thrilled to have questions such as, “How would you like the dinner napkins folded?”

My answer? “I don’t give a damn!”

Of course, I said it more politely than that at the tasting, but it felt great not to care, and to turn to Mr. Cathedral Heights and say, “Honey, you decide.”

Other decisions that occurred during the tasting included the color of the napkins and tablecloths, the fabric choice for napkins and tablecloths, charger or no charger, regular chair or fancy chair, and the particular courses. We made it through most of these questions pretty quickly—except for a brief moment where I thought the nicer chairs would make a big difference, but Mr. CH put a stop to that thinking by reminding me how much more we would have to spend and by asking what kind of chairs were at the last wedding we attended (I had no recollection whatsoever)—and we spent the rest of the time on food decisions.

The food decisions weren’t too tough either. The Key Bridge Marriott has a variety of hearty, American dishes, and only a few of them fit in our price range so it was relatively easy to pick our favorites. They also had more than one vegetarian option (yay!). Honestly, I just want the guests to have decent food that they can munch on and enjoy, that will balance the large amounts of alcohol some of them may consume. My favorite item we chose: Cheeseburger sliders as an appetizer. Mr. CH picked those!

We are fortunate that the wedding planner assigned to us at the Marriott—Nancy June—has a sense of humor and appears to be very thorough when it comes to event planning. Plus, she’s laid back, which counters my moments of anxiety. She and my future hubby poked fun at me for my lengthy, repetitive emails (hopefully my blogs don’t fall into that category). I got the sense that I send a lot more emails than most brides! Future hubby reassured me in the car on the way home that being detail oriented is a good thing and he likes that part of me, which made me feel a bit better about my Wedding OCD.

We left the tasting full of food and satisfied with our decisions. I won’t lose any sleep wondering whether the three-fold was the right choice for the napkins.

best part

so, i had heard that the most fun part of wedding planning would be registering. and i will admit that the scouring of webpages and building a dream home wishlist is pretty awesome as are the scanning guns at various stores. but i find myself checking out our registries almost daily to see if our generous guests have purchased anything. the first time i saw "complete" next to one of our registry items, i called mr. uva to share my high level of excitement. he only ruined it a little by telling me that he had removed the item and no one had actually purchased it - serious bummer.

DIY--- Calligraphy By From One Hand to Another

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This is the Ultimate Do It Yourself to ensure your Invitations have 'YOUR' Special Touch!

Beau-coup SITE WIDE SALE!

Just wanted to let EVERYONE know that Beau-coup is running a site-wide sale.

The sale includes free shipping on orders over $125 and up to 15% off.

You can check out more details here: http://www.beau-coup.com/promo/.

Hurry though, the sale ends this Thursday at midnight!

Saying No to Trendy

Apparently, the trendy hairstyle for brides and red carpet walkers is a natural updo—a loose bun or braid that looks as though the bride may have done it herself.


All the hairdressers I talk to try to convince me to wear my hair up for my wedding. One suggested I look up photos of Taylor Swift at the 2009 CMT Awards. Taylor, of course, looked gorgeous and I love her hairstyle, but I want to wear my hair down!

For the past two days, I’ve been obsessively Googling photos of hairstyles for weddings, celebrity hairstyles, red carpet hairstyles, partial updo’s. I'm positive Mr. Cathedral Heights is tired of me making him pause his video game to look at yet another example of how I want my hair to look for our wedding.

I value stylists’ advice and I can see what they mean when they explain that it’s better not to take away from the dress and jewelry. But then they add that I need to look like myself at my wedding, and that it’s best not to do anything drastically different from your norm, as years down the road you may look at your wedding photos and wonder, “who’s the chick in the Princess Leia bun?” only to realize you’re staring at your own face. And, since I wear my hair down mostly, doesn’t that mean it should be mostly down for my wedding?

I think the way to handle this is to find as many photos as possible that convey the hairstyle I’m imagining, bring those to the stylist for a trial run, and insist on seeing my hair the way I want it, no matter how much they push back. That way at least I can get the full picture. If I agree that it’s not the right look, I’ll let them try a loose side bun, but if I love it, I’m going to go with my instinct on this one. There have been other choices that I’ve let others weigh in on more heavily, but this time I’m sticking to my guns!

My dress is very elegant, fitted throughout the body and then it goes out a bit around the thigh. The neckline is straight across the chest, like a strapless gown, but with thin lace straps. I imagine my hair worn down, in loose curls, parted on one side, with either one or both sides pulled back a bit and clipped, with a flower towards the back. Veronica Lake with a flower? Here are some photos that almost depict what I want.

Now to find a stylist who will at least try this…

we attended our tasting last week and oh man! was it delicious! i can't stop thinking about our menu. i also can't stop thinking about the question our onsite planner asked. "let's talk timeline for the day and what formalities you will be including". first dance, toasts, receiving line, cake cutting, father-daughter dance, mother-son dance, anniversary dance, bouquet toss, garter toss, the send-off. when you list them all out, i'm afraid that there won't be a party left. i really want our guests to have a relaxing and fun evening and just eat, drink, and dance if they want to. once our guests are dancing, i don't want to have to wind them down again for toasts and then get them back up on the dance floor. why not let them have the rest of the evening to dance the night away?

i don't have a resolution.

i think a receiving line would be very nice and my mother would greatly appreciate it. but how do we fit it in with pictures and cocktails?

so here's what i'm thinking:
5:30pm ceremony
6:00pm cocktails/pictures
7:00pm head in to the main house for dinner
7:15pm introductions
7:20pm first dance
7:25pm prayer and dinner service
8:15pm cake cutting
8:20pm toasts
8:35pm father-daughter dance
8:40-11:00pm dance party

how does that sound? i still need to figure out the bouquet toss (if we have one) and the mother-son dance (if mr. uva's mom would like to have one).

details, details!

The Barcelo: Riviera Maya, Mexico

Welcome to one of the most stunning beaches you will ever experience. Honestly, even though it is your wedding and the event you have waited for all your life, I bet you will be itching to get out of that wedding gown and into the cutest white bikini you can find at this resort. The Barcelo Properties in Riviera Maya consist of five properties Maya Beach, Maya Colonial Beach, Caribe Beach, Tropical Beach and Palace Deluxe. This allows you and your guests to mingle easily but also to get away for a bit of privacy from family and friends.





The Gazebo is a popular selection for ceremonies, uplit at night it's a gorgeous setting with water views ( but you can wear your heels without worry of the sand.) Beachfront options are also available.







The Spa is phenomenal Ladies, full scale and serene. They picked us up in golf carts for our appointment. Loved it !!



The beaches are pretty wide here. The property is sprawling but if you are a runner you its wonderful as the properties are aligned to allow you to take your run through all of the properties. Both Adult only and Family friendly pools. Several restaurants with authentic themed cuisine. Volleyball, water polo, and a myriad of scheduled events to keep you and your guests occupied. Hammocks galore!!

Destination: Mexico

Destination Weddings have truly evolved and we find ourselves escorting more and more brides to points far and wide. We recently had the opportunity to travel to Mexico and scout out a number of locations we found to be truly wonderful. Stick around as we cover the globe uncovering gems across the continents all perfect for your Destination Wedding.
First stop The Barcelo: Rivera May, Mexico

Grab Your Copy Now!

Check out these highlights from the May issue of BRIDES magazine, on newsstands TODAY!:

The BRIDES 200: From menus to music – hairstyles to honeymoons – the editors of BRIDES have put together a list of everything trendy for today’s weddings (p 226)

The wedding meal can be one of the most expensive lines in the budget, so BRIDES helps trim the fat with 10 ways to save on catering (p 120)

Registry 411: You aren’t just setting up a home; you’re building a life. BRIDES has a tool kit with everything you need to know when registering (p 143)

Don’t stress over planning your honeymoon – BRIDES has a simple plan that will help you map out a fabulous honeymoon with ease

What if your singer calls in sick? What do you do if someone rips your train? Not to worry – BRIDES has some quick fixes to solve these and many other last-minute problems (p 128)

Dresses that look divine from behind set the standard this season – check out these twelve pages of beautiful fashion (p 208)

How to take honeymoon basics from daytime to date time with just a few key accessories (p 266)

• 
  
  PLUS, 20 goodies for welcome bags (p 284)

For these stories and more, check out the May issue of BRIDES, on newsstands April 6.

For these stories and more, check out the May issue of BRIDES, on newsstands April 6.

Ceremony Backdrop: Graves or Port-O-Potties?

When my mother traveled to DC last weekend from California to help with wedding tasks, we visited our possible ceremony sites. Mr. Cathedral Heights and I planned to visit them a few times previously, but kept canceling because of snowstorms and a brief period of low wedding planning motivation. We figured that my mother’s trip offered a chance to check out the sites and try to make a decision.

I let go of the idea of getting married at a castle in Ireland if we could have an outdoor ceremony (okay, maybe a castle in Ireland was never really on the table…). So, when we decided to have the reception at the Key Bridge Marriott, I began looking into affordable outdoor ceremony venues nearby. I learned that the National Park Service charges a mere $50 for a permit to have a wedding ceremony on Park property, and I decided to start there.

We narrowed it down to two choices: The Jefferson Memorial or the Netherlands Carillon. The former would be a bit further from the reception site, but sounded like a memorable place for a ceremony, and the latter was a mere eight blocks or so from the hotel and also a beautiful setting.

First stop: The Netherlands Carillon. A grassy area with a large bell tower gifted to the US from the Netherlands, surrounded by trees, with a distant view of DC, The Netherlands Carillon is sandwiched between Arlington National Cemetery and the United States Marine Corps Memorial. Not sandwiched tightly, but enough to make the setting feel a tad too serene for the wedding ceremony. I just don’t feel entirely comfortable walking down the aisle with a graveyard in my peripheral view.

Second stop: The Jefferson Memorial—a gorgeous monument as the backdrop to our wedding seemed perfect. Although tourist season was in full force because of the Cherry Blossoms blooming, as we made our way to the Jefferson it looked exceptionally gorgeous. We walked to the section designated by the park for the ceremony and massive blue, plastic structures came into view. I attempted to imagine the ceremony without the backdrop of Port-O-Potty row or the stench of chemicals covering the stench of human waste. Call me high maintenance, but that’s just not my idea of acceptable for the “something blue” category. We decided to go back to that site when the Cherry Blossoms, and hopefully the plastic restrooms, have disappeared.


I’m contemplating returning to the idea board for outdoor ceremony sites in the DC/Arlington area (if you have any thoughts on this, let me know!). As a good friend of mine pointed out today, part of planning a wedding is accepting that it won’t all go as planned.

who knew

who knew that the most difficult decision with this wedding would be over the silliest thing?

mr. uva and i have been bickering over ties for months now. i found the cutest floral option from fieldguided on etsy but mr.uva wants a more "substantial" feeling tie. so we went the commercial route and picked up ties from both j crew and brooks brothers - no go. he wants a floral tie and can't find one.

no joke...this has been going on for months and months.

two nights ago was my limit. i told my fine fiance that i didn't want to hear anything else about ties. i was all "tied-out". no more. pick a tie. i was at the point where i didn't care if the boys even wore ties.

but he followed through and ordered this lovely liberty print

tie crafters in new york will be making my mr. uva and his groomsmen matching ties and bowties out of this pretty pink floral.

phew

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Wish Upon a Wedding and Get Married Join Up!

WISH UPON A WEDDING IS THE CHARITY OF CHOICE FOR GET MARRIED!

This is my opportunity to give a little shout out to a cause I personally believe in. I am overjoyed to hear this news and hope our readers will as well. If you are or know of someone who could benefit from Wish Upon a Wedding, please contact me. Mrs. Nearlywed.

In an unparalleled union to support the mission of Wish Upon a Wedding, starting today Wish Upon a Wedding will be the charity of choice & the National Media Partner for Get Married Media, Inc.

Get Married Media will increase the organization’s exposure both nationally and within local chapters on behalf of Wish Upon a Wedding by supporting the organization & the wish recipients! Look for ads in the Get Married Magazine and on their weekly TV show on WE!

Wish Upon a Wedding and will also be featured on the Get Married Blog. And if that isn’t enough…they have agreed to consider features on the wedding wishes & videos shot by our wish granters including showcasing the wish recipients weddings on their TV show.

The entire Get Married Media family have worked so hard on our behalf, and this just goes to show that they truly believe in our cause and mission. As America’s first non profit wedding wish granting organization, it’s important to us to have such great endorsements from the best of the best and Get Married does that for Wish Upon A Wedding.

Six months ‘til the wedding and LAID OFF?

Upon my arrival at work last Monday morning my boss informed me that I was being laid off. Not the best news to hear when you’re planning a wedding. Maybe I should have seen it coming—working as an editor for a small company that recently lost a client. I was the last to join, I was the first to go. Logically it all made sense (for them anyway), but it was indeed a blow to my wellbeing.

Amid my stress and frustration, Mr. Cathedral Heights reacted with understanding and empathy, assuring me that we’ll make our bills and have the wedding we’ve been planning in September. Our parents are helping us with the wedding costs quite a bit, which saves us from having to drastically cut costs.

As I’m sure you’d imagine, the past week has been difficult for me—full of mixed emotions at this situation. I have had consistent, full-time work for more than nine years, since graduating college, so this state is rather unfamiliar to me. I've been attempting to stay positive by working out, searching job listings, networking, and continuing with the wedding planning, but I’ve also had days where I just want to hide in bed and read an escape book (The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, has been excellent for that).

I realize that I’m not the only one dealing with a layoff right now, and I need to appreciate the positive parts of my life—that I’m marrying a caring, kind, intelligent man and I am able to lean on him, friends, and family for emotional support. But, there’s always that other side of me that just wants to drown in sorrow and self pity, as hard as it is to admit that here.

My friends who have dealt with a layoff seem to give common advice: Take your time and figure out what you want to do. In the meantime, I have plenty of wedding tasks to keep me busy!

Here I Come, Big Apple!

Not this upcoming weekend, but the next, I am heading up to Connecticut to Mrs. Gallery Place's home (she's my amazing Matron of Honor) for my bridal shower with a bunch of my friends. Immediately following the shower, we are hopping on a train to...

New York City!

Apparently my bachelorette party is going to be a night out in the Big Apple! I have no idea what’s going on for either the shower or the night out in New York City, and the suspense is KILLING ME! The rumblings I have heard have been such a tease. The one thing I do know was that there is a dress code, and even though it’s based pretty much one what I wear regularly, I wanted an outfit that was special. I didn’t want to roll up to my party in an outfit that could double for going to work.

The dress code is jeans, fun black top, fun shoes. After some searching, I came out with a pretty awesome outfit.

This ruffle tank. It’s black, even though it looks gray on screen.

Under this ruffle cardigan. (Did you know that I love ruffles?)

Fun zebra shoes.

…and this little fun bag from J Crew.

Not only am I looking forward to it from a “OH MY GOD! WEDDING!” perspective, but it’ll be nice to have a little mini weekend trip away from the DC area, too.

What are you guys doing for your showers/bachelorettes? Are you/did you have fun picking out your outfits?

Do You Already Have the April 2010 Issue of BRIDES?!

If not... Here's what you are missing!!!!

Plus!!!

It wouldn’t be a wedding without… The editors of BRIDES talked to wedding consultants and recently married couples all over the U.S. to find out about their personal wedding-day traditions (p 262)

Our experts share tricks and tips on how to camouflage skin woes on your big day, from pimples to distracting tattoos (p 104)

License to Frill – These frilly frocks are ultrafeminine and becoming. Check out 14 pages of beautiful gowns (p 232)

How can you save $1,000 on your reception music? iPod your wedding! From track suggestions to troubleshooting – BRIDES makes it easy (p 118)

For brides thinking about a beach wedding – we have some tips and great ideas to make sure it’s a success (p 130)

Wedding gifts are exciting – but not if there’s nowhere to put them! BRIDES has a few suggestions for merging and purging while keeping everyone happy (p 150)

America Ferrera stars in the new film Our Family Wedding – which tackles issues many couples face when bringing their families together – check out the BRIDES interview with America (p 158)

PLUS, 25 new ideas for table names (p 312)

For these stories and more, pick up the latest issue of BRIDES, at your local newsstands.
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Workshop dates: March 21 in Columbia, MD and March 27 in Falls Church VA. For more details check out our website $20 per person :55 minute class Register NOW as space is limited!

Saying Goodbye

Fellow nearlyweds and readers...

I'm sorry I've been absent. There's been a lot going on and there's a lot I have to share. It's not all good news, unfortunately, but not all bad either. First of all, my hunny and I have decided to postpone our wedding. There's a few other nearlywed misses that can relate to this decision. We just needed more time to plan and execute our ideas.

Source

Also, any of you that have read or followed my previous posts (here, here, and here) know that my family didn't want us rushing down the aisle. While a one year engagement might be ideal for some, a year and a half engagement is what's best for us. My dad and stepmom, in particular had a lot to do with this decision. They wanted us to take our time and that's exactly what we've decided to do.

I'll be honest that at first, my fiance and I resisted changing our wedding date, which was scheduled for Ocobter 24, 2010, but I cannot tell you how relieved we are to have six more months of planning time. After a few long talks with our folks, some reviewing of the budget and our to do lists, we've decided to wait to get married this time next year in the spring of 2011. Again, this shouldn't come as a big surprise since I blogged about all of it. I blogged about my confusion about if I should have a fall or spring wedding, as well as getting my parents approval.

Rest assured, things are going well and we're really happy with the direction we're headed in. The additional time has we've given us all a chance to take a deep breath. It's taken a lot of pressure off of my parents and I feel confident that we're making the right decision.

Source

The bad news is that I don't intend to blog for DCNearlyweds for an entire year. While I'm really excited to have an additional six months of planning time ahead, I don't think it's fair to other wannabe bloggers and to readers for me to blog for such an extended period of time. Plus, I don't want to commit to it since I'm moving at a much slower pace than I was. We're not in any hurry to book our vendors or start the DIY projects. We're really taking a step back from the wedding planning to enjoy the engagement and focus on other things.

Did any of you push your wedding date back?

Were you glad that you did?

Like I've mentioned, the decision to have our wedding next spring is one I'm really happy with and it finally feels like things are moving smoothly and in the right direction. I can't tell you the difference its made to have our families onboard and to be able to slow down with the wedding planning! We're even going to have an engagement party in May, to quench our thirst for a celebration.

I really hope you readers and fellow nearlyweds understand my decision to quit the blog. I love all of you and have a deep appreciation for the online wedding community, because you guys are just so awesome! I was so excited that I was able to blog for DCNearlyweds, that I never thought I'd give it up; however, I have given this a lot of thought and it's only fair to open up my spot to another bride blogger who fits the criteria of getting married in the fall 2010.

In a few months I may be ready to start blogging for a mainstream site again. In the meantime, I'll still be blogging on my own sit (here) a little and I'll definitely be by to check for updates on all of you and wedding inspriation too!

Take care and happy marriages to you all!