It's really starting to hit me... we are getting married really soon!!! 

Although I feel a lot better about the progress that was made while we were home, I still have a lot more to be done.  And since I'm very detail oriented, there's a bunch of little things that need to be taken care of too. 

This weekend, Sean and I finally got down to the Jewelry Exchange in Tustin.  We've been wanting to go to check out bands after seeing all the commercials.  What a disappointment!  It's a LOT smaller than it looks on TV and there really wasn't that much of a selection, at least for bands.  Bummer!

Today I did a ton of research on vases.  On Friday, we went to Michael's to pick up some rhinestones for the invitations and I wanted to check out the vases to get an idea of the size I would need and compare them with Uncle Wayne's notes.  I was probably on saveoncrafts.com for like 4 hours just browsing through everythign they had... and I didn't even get to finish looking at everything!  I hope to go to downtown LA or someplace where they might sell vases in bulk and ship to Hawaii... although the website had good deals, I would still have to pay like $600 just for vases!  Yikes! So the hunt is still on for that...

Meanwhile, I think we've decided to go with Melissa from Frosted Hawaii.  She was really nice, had the best tasting cupcakes (which let's be honest, is the most important part) and was really willing to work with us however she could.  Kristin was also very nice, but helping out a friend of a friend's business also did play a little role I would have to say.  And even though it wasn't much, it was a little cheaper and we can afford to save wherever we can! 

In Invitation news, Aya has sent me a bunch of really really cute ideas for the invitations and even designed some monograms for Sean & I to choose from.  I am very excited to get that process started!  I hope to send them out in the beginning of August, so we better get a move on it!

And speaking of that, Congrats to Aya & Shaun who got engaged last week and Tara & Rob who got engaged this weekend!  YAY!  I am so very happy for the both of them!!! :)

ALMOST forgot!!!  I joined the gym!  Officially going to start working out so that I'm not an oompa loompa for my big day ;)  I've gone Friday, Saturday and Monday.... lets hope I can keep this up!

Per Samantha's request... a few pictures wedding related from our trip...

Tutu, our professional bow maker, is going to make all the bows for the utencils/ napkins!  So pretty!

Cake Tasting #1 with Kristin from "A Cake Life"

Cake Tasting #2 with Melissa from "Frosted Hawaii"

sneek peak of our wedding cite @ Lanikuhonua!

Hair & Make Up Trial with Alison Hayashi

And I don't want to spoil too much, but Chris did a tasting for us while we were home (yes, he's the best and we are going to have the most amazing food ever at our wedding!) Here are some pictures...  but I won't go into detail, there has to be some elements of surprise!

Just got back from our trip last night and figured I should blog now while everything is still fresh in my head.  Thursday, we went out to Lanikuhonua and met with Heather from Accel, who did a walk through with us so we could create a layout.  It was really nice to see where everything was going to go and be able to visualize everything.  I now know where I'll walk down the aisle, where the tent will be, where the tables will be, the food, the dance floor, the bar, etc!  Then our coordinator was nice enough to make the trip out and walk through it with us also and give us some tips and advice.  After that, we went next door to Ihilani to kind of see where things would be and what not.  The gate leading to Lanikuhonua is very convenient so we'll be able to just walk over to the ceremony which is awesome!


Next, I had a meeting with Mr. or shall I say Dr. Cardwell to get my teeth fitted for some trays so I could whiten my teeth.  A big THANK YOU goes out to him for fitting me in and helping me out.


Next, we had a cake tasting with Kristin from "A Cake Life".  She was really nice and very professional.  She had her laptop with different images to show us, to get a sense of the style we liked and we discussed many of the ideas I had and things I wanted to incorporate and she was very willing to work with all of it.  The only problem for me, was that the cake itself was dry... :(  


On Friday, we met with another cake place called "Frosted Hawaii".  We met with a girl named Melissa, who coincidentally was a friend of our friend Jessica.  We tasted the cupcakes first and it was really yummy!   I liked the vanilla vanilla one a lot.  However, we didn't really seem to discuss too much of the cake decoration or ideas.  So at the moment it's kind of a toss up.  I think I will wait for the proposals from each girl and see what to do from there.  And in the end, if one is much cheaper than the other I will probably go that way since I'm on the fence right now.


Friday we also met at Waialae to discuss the rehearsal dinner.  Sean's mom and I had picked out all of our food selections, so I turned that in to Karina, and then we just discussed other little details.  I think it will be really nice, just kind of a bummer that it will be at night and we'll be missing out on the great view outside!


I also had my hair and make up trial with Alison Hayashi on Friday.  She's really nice, personable and talented.  She even did my eyebrows for free!  She usually charges like $30 but she is a family friend of my roommate Kyle so was very generous in our trial.  I tried one hairstyle up and one down...it's still in debate... only thing is that she took some pictures for me and I realized how chubby I have gotten.  Even mom said my face was kinda fat!  I need to start to freaking work out!!!!!


We then met with a bartender whom Melissa, our coordinator referred us to.  He was really nice, easy to talk to and we just went over the basics but it was good to just be in touch.  It seems like a way more affordable option than the other two companies I had researched earlier.


Lastly, on Saturday, we were able to meet with Uncle Wayne to discuss flowers.  Btw, did I mention that I brought the WRONG binder home with me???  How dumb!!!  I can't believe it, especially after all the work I had done over the months.  Luckily Kyle scanned and emailed it over to us, but still.... so dumb!  Anyway, I gave Uncle Wayne some fabric that they could play around with for the bridesmaids bouquets and then we discussed bouquets, lei's, centerpieces, flowers for the ceremony....so many choices it's insane!!!!

Almost forgot the most exciting, best, part... Chris was so nice and took time out of his very busy schedule to come do a little tasting for us at the house.   There's not one thing I would change.  And I know I shouldn't be surprised, and I'm not really, but everything was sooooo good!  I can't wait or the wedding to eat it all again!  Thank you SO MUCH Chris!

Ok that's about all for now...it was a good and productive trip home, just very very busy!!!

My mom has been really helpful in helping to do some research on ceremony music.  She found me a harpist through the musicians union who she's been in touch with.  Then she had an idea that a flutist might sound really nice with a harp, but would check on the price.  My Aunty Jennie, sho is a piano teacher, gave her another  name of a harpist, Aileen Kawakami.  She and the company she works with "Flute a la Harpe" has musicians for both the flute and harp.  They play at all kinds of events as well as some top hotels and stores.  I checked out their website this morning and listened to a sample of "here comes the bride"... I got chicken skin!  I didn't really know what to expect it to sound like, but I loved it!  Eeeeek this is all becoming more and more real!

I also got an updated proposal from Accel this weekend and a confirmation to do a walk through at Lanikuhonua with them while I'm home.  Phew!  Glad that is all coming together as well.

I worked at the UCLA snack bar for the regionals tourney all weekend.  From 10-10 on Saturday and then 10-8 last night.  The game wasn't as crowded because LSU lost the first game.  I was so happy to be let out early, but the weekend really wasn't as bad as I was fearing.  The people were all so nice to work with, and I like keeping busy.  It was even actually a little fun!!!  And best part of all, is I'm glad I did it... cash towards the wedding fund!!!

Side note: Chris was publishsed!!  So proud of him!  Can't believe we are so lucky to be blessed wih him in our lives & to have him cook for our wedding!  http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/June-2010/Dining-The-Boys-are-Back-in-Town/

Would like to start this off by saying Happy 32nd Anniversary to my parents!!!


I think I forgot to update on this but a few weeks ago our first bridesmaids dress for Samantha came in.  It was so beautiful!  We weren't sure how it would turn out, especially the color since the girls tried it on in black, but the color was gorgeous and I loved the flowers as opposed to petals on the original.  They did such a great job, can't wait to get the other girls dresses ordered too.  Sean's mom also found sandals at Loehmann's that she suggested getting extra flowers made to match the dress and put them on... the color matched perfectly and the idea was excellent!  However, the girls didn't seem to really like the sandal, and I was set on the jelly idea from the get go, so I think we'll search a bit more for a cute jelly first.  Especially since it's almost summer there should be more coming out.  Becky found a few really cute ones at Bloomies last weekend and sent me a pic, go figure with my jellies obsession, I had two of them that she sent!  I think the Juicy ones were really cute and Becky liked those the best too... so we'll see!


What else...  I called the ala carte bartender that Melissa referred me to yesterday and left a message.  Hoping he will call back soon so I can figure which direction to go in... two other companies with bartending services I have checked out seem pretty amazing but run about $1300 and that's just services, ice, some mixers and the bar... but we'll see which works out the best in the end!  I just don't know!


Mom also made a few calls for me to get quotes on tour buses and ceremony music.  We are thinking of getting a harpist to play at the ceremony...but again, we'll see!  


That's it for now!  Congrats to my parents for making it 32 years... to UH Softball for winning today in their first ever College World Series appearance and Let's Goooo Laaakersss!


3:40 pm- my customized stamps that I ordered on Saturday for the invitations already came in today!  So fast!

So I am trying to decide on my flowers- centerpieces and bouquets so I have something to bring to my Uncle and hopefully we can start deciding on everything when I get home.  I'm very undecided about whether I want an all white bouquet, a colorful one with our colors, or a mixture....it's just so hard to decide!  
Flowers will be a mixture of oriental lilies, cymbidium orchids, hydrangeas and MAYBE roses, but not sure on that one yet.  I have a bunch of ideas for centerpieces but am so unsure about my bouquet and subsequently the bridesmaids bouquets as well.
Anyway, I was doing some research on the Designs By Hemmingway (Whom my Uncle told me to check out because they provide her with the flowers) website and stumbled upon this...remind you of anyone??!?

So it's been a while since I've updated... I've realized that I do need to get a move on things as I realized the 6 month mark has come and passed so quickly!  I really can't believe it!  In less than 6 months I am going to be Lauren Nicole Smith... hmmm....hahahaha

Well things are slooowly coming along with Accel.  Pretty sure I am going to go with them.  I have a card and little gift to send to Kai @ JMJ Rentals but haven't sent it yet because I'm waiting to for everything to go through with Accel.  At least we have the walk through scheduled at Lanikuhonua together so I'm glad about that.  And then Heather sent me a revised proposal hopefully with everything that I need so I think we are headed in the right direction.  I just want it to get squared away.

I am at Barnes and Noble in Manhattan Beach to meet Aya, my good family friend from home to go over wedding invitations.  Aya used to work at a wedding magazine, and now is starting up her own print business.  Ok, time to go, I'll report back later!

Ok, so now it's Tuesday... the meeting went really well.  It was so great to see Aya!  She brought a bunch of samples for me to see from friends invitations.  We looked at the different options and discussed what we'd like to do.  I know I want to somehow incorporate the material into the invitations and Aya was able to make something from the picture I sent her of the material onto a digital copy.  So cool!  Anyway, I also wanted to somewhat decide on what I wanted because we need to start getting things printed pretty soon, as well as I recieved an email from zazzle with a coupon so I wanted to create more postage for the actual invitations.   I used zazzle to create my postage for the save the dates and was really happy with the way they turned out.  I know it's not something absolutely necessary, but I really think it's a nice touch to have and with the coupon it wasn't terrible in the end.  So anyway, after our meeting I took a sample of the envelope with insterts to have mailed at the post office and once I knew the postage amount I was able to create and order my postage for my invitations and reply cards!  Yiipee!!

On Sunday, Sean and I went to Westside Pavillion to start checking out wedding bands for him.  Sean could really care less... he "hates shopping".  Humph!  But anyway, we went to Zales where he tried on a few, then over to Macy's where he tried on a few ( I didn't even know they had engagement/ wedding bands there, but my good friend Tiffany just got engaged to Scotty (congrats guys!) and he found her ring there).  Anyway, we went to one last place in the mall that I have been to for resizing my watch and found that they custom order rings there and can handle all of our engraving needs which is nice to know. 

That's about all I got done this weekend... trying to figure out if there's anything else I need to do and set up before I go home in 15 days!  Oh, also went on a bike ride from Venice to Malibu yesterday and with my beach reading material, I was able to get some inspiration for my place cards!  So exciting!  I had always had an idea (dealing with green apples) but didn't know how to make it work or what exactly I wanted to do, but now I think I do!