Friday, July 31, 2009

What's in a name?

Anyone else hate the word "fiancé"? I mean look at it. It even LOOKS smug.

Every time I talk about Ms. Temple of Groom I despise knowing that somewhere in the upcoming sentence I'll have to use the word fiancé. I really wish there was another word that described what she is.

Possible options presented to me have been terrible. Future wife and bride to be seem to be the alternates. Terrible. She's going to kill me for this, but I'm totally guilty of calling her my girlfriend after we got engaged. Not on accident either. Because I feel like SUCH a jerk when I say "fiancé". I'm definitely not hiding the fact that I'm engaged, and I truly love that I am, so if this is one of the rules in "He's just not that into you" give me a break.

Does anyone like this word? I even hate typing it on my phone because it keeps auto correcting me and adding the damn accent over the "e". What a jerk this word is. Any suggestions other than "get over it Dave"?

TUNE IN MONDAY!

Just a quick shameless plug for myself because I'm excited!!

I'm going to be on a nationally televised morning talk show called "The Daily Buzz" on Monday morning. Tune in @ 8:45am EST. Check your local listings for which channel it's on, but if you don't get the show, you can always tune in online @ http://dailybuzznow.com/.

The show reaches 58% of the country and over 66 million households. Thank god I scheduled a haircut tomorrow. I literally have a helmet of hair on my head right now.


Additionally, I'll be on the show via skype... if anyone has any good hints for looking good on webcam, let me know!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Awkward + Wedding Photography x 2

Happy Monday morning to you all. Well, in a small game of "one-upmanship", Ms. Temple of Groom has bested my "most awkward wedding photo". This one doesn't even need a caption to make it funny. Enjoy.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Awkward + Wedding Photography

One of the most awkward wedding photographs I've seen in a while! Candid?...maybe. Staged?...probably. Weird? definitely!
Submit your best caption in the comments below to win a prize!!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I now understand why rehearsals are needed!

While we're on the subject of the Rehearsal Dinner, it got me thinking, why even HAVE a rehearsal?! I mean we've all seen enough weddings to understand how it all works. He walks, she walks, they listen to the Rabbi (or priest or friend that got his license on the internet), then they walk out together smiling... easy. I'd like to think that I'm fairly good at walking. I mean, I haven't gone PRO, but I think I could have - anyway, I never understood why one needed to rehearse...

....until now. Check out this video. It's GREAT.


Totally worth all of the rehearsing. I love it all. I bet that was a really fun reception.


ps. before I get yelled at in the comments, I do understand why to rehearse the wedding, and Rebecca, I know I'm not going to have a dance party down the aisle procession

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Rehearsal Dinner guest list

Who gets an invite to the rehearsal dinner? While the true answer is "invite whomever you want", there seem to be several schools of thought on the issue.
  1. Invite only those in the wedding party
  2. Invite those in the wedding party and out of town guests
  3. Invite those in the wedding party, close family not in the wedding, and out of town guests
  4. Invite everyone
It seems while the economy has fallen on tough times, the rehearsal dinner is something that has fallen under the budget cutting knife. People seem to be scaling way back on the rehearsal dinner. Right now I see and agree with all sides of this debate. One minute I understand the importance of having a big rehearsal dinner with a large guest list, then the next I question why you have to throw a mini-wedding reception the night before the wedding reception. That's why I'm turning to you... help me. What are your thoughts on rehearsal dinner guest lists?

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Attending a Wedding While Planning a Wedding

This past weekend I attended a wedding while planning a wedding for the first time. It's an entirely different ballgame. You assess and critique EVERYTHING. The usual Post-Wedding Hungover version of myself normally has no clue what my fiance is talking about the next morning when she remembers the dresses, the centerpieces, the programs, etc. The morning after, I'm lucky if I remember the wedding colors, and am doubly lucky if I don't puke from the overexertion of trying to remember colors mixed w/ alcohol poisoning. I kid, I kid...

Even though I drank as much as I normally do this last weekend, I can recall every detail of the wedding. I assume that's because this is the first time I really SAW them. Even though we got drunk enough for Ms. Temple of Groom to randomly talk in a renaissance era accent (I'm not joking, at one point she couldn't find me so she was asking all our friends where her "liege"was) I remember everything. I feel like a superhero after the accident that gave him all of his super powers. In this case imagine a giant wedding planning book dropping on me from space in a vineyard (that's where the wedding took place). I climb out in a tattered suit and yell "I REMEMBER EVERY DETAIL!!!! THE COLORS WERE BURNT ORANGE AND CREAM! PASS ME ANOTHER FRIED RISOTTO BALL!!!" I admit, not the sexiest superpower, but it's a start.

Anyway, yes, attending a wedding while you're in the early planning stages is totally a different experience and it's actually an extremely beneficial experience too. You're looking for new ideas, seeing what worked, seeing what didn't work. You learn so much. Perhaps the best thing I saw at this wedding was the table assignment cards. Instead of getting a piece of paper w/ your name and table assignment on it, the bride and groom wrote a really heartfelt letter to each person/couple. It was such a nice touch. I've never seen that before. What are the rules about stealing this idea?! Another great tidbit I learned from the wedding was born from tragedy. Apparently before the reception the venue noticed the centerpieces kept blowing over (the winds in central CA are pretty gusty!) so the bride had them pull the centerpieces from the tables. That taught us if we're going to DIY our centerpieces, and have an outdoor wedding, we need to take wind into consideration. Also it showed me that a table didn't look lost w/o a grand centerpiece. A centerpiece can be small, simple, classy, and sturdy and be just fine! Lastly, Rebecca and I have always worried about planning something after the reception, or having ideas for our friends who want to afterparty. After the reception last Saturday we realized we no longer have to worry about that. If you have booze hungry adults they will find alcohol on their own. We got them as far as we needed to take them, they are responsible for the rest. WE were able to find the one bar still open in Solvang w/o the bride and groom worrying about us! So we'll do the same.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Food, Glorious Food

I'm going to a wedding this weekend, and as I sit at my desk, starving for lunch, I can only think about what type of food they'll serve. I'm positive I marked "Beef" months ago, when I rsvp-ed, but I'm daydreaming about what kind of beef, what kind of passed hors d'oeuvres will there be, maybe there's food planning to be there that I don't even know about! I'm excited. It got me thinking though, do any of you have a wish list of foods you'll see at a wedding?

There is, however, one item that makes a guest appearance every so often that literally makes me do a jig when I see it: the huge tower of shrimp cocktail. The most delicious oxymoron there ever was, the jumbo shrimp pyramid. I've been known to devour 3 dozen shrimp before cocktail hour is over. Call me George Costanza, I don't care. My dad and I stand with our backs to the shrimp table as if we've yet to see it, and one of us will casually say "Did you know they had a jumbo shrimp cocktail tower?". The other will subtly act surprised when he turns to see it. It's a beautiful dance we do once our appetizer plates are empty.



Other notables on the "Dream Team" of wedding reception food I'm compiling in my head are:
  • a table w/ various cheeses and meats (sausages, prosciutto, etc)
  • some sort of mini crab cake (one that doesn't try to be a Maryland crab cake, perhaps one that has some sort of asian inspired dipping sauce)
  • perhaps some sort of salmon (or bacon) wrapped around a piece of asparagus
  • a nicely cooked, and cut, steak (I'm fine with roasts, but an actual steak is on the dream team)
  • desserts other than cake
  • a signature drink (I like the thought of having one more than the drink most of the time!)
What foods make your list? Did I leave anything out?!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Mason Jars = Awesome

Does anyone else think mason jars are awesome?
I may need to "borrow" this idea! I think this looks so cool. Our wedding is at night so the more candles/twinkle lights I think the better. I'm thinking we'll go to a flea market and buy a bunch of different types of jars and do a variation of this idea!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

LIFE Gets Married

...and I get sweet sweet vindication!

LIFE Magazine posted some great vintage pictures of famous weddings and one in particular caught my eye. Take a look at this picture of JFK's wedding and the caption LIFE has written about it, and tell me what's rightfully missing from the wedding day equation.

"Sitting Down to Dinner"
"The Kennedys enjoy a bridal meal of fruit cup, creamed chicken, and ice cream sculpted to resemble roses, 1953." -LIFE Magazine

So... what's missing? A CAKE!!!!!!! Ah HA! No cake! If ice cream (or at least a different and, in my opinion, much better dessert) is good enough for JFK, an American icon, it's good enough for me! Case closed. Look at this quote I dug up (made up) on the internet from President Kennedy.

"We choose to go to the reception. We choose to go to the reception in this decade and not have cake. Not because it's easier and cheaper, but because there are other desserts, because that goal will organize and measure the best of our creativity and taste.

And so my fellow Americans, ask not what you can do for your baker or pastry chef, ask what your baker or pastry chef can do for you!

I had a dream, and it was a reception without cake! Read my lips, no new cake! Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall of cake! I did not have sexual relations with that cake. A reception without cake, YES WE CAN"

-President John F. Kennedy

Wow... he said all of that stuff... fact. And he had Marilyn Monroe, so I think that pretty much wins it for everyone who voted "Not cake" in the first Temple of Groom poll. His vote counts more....