we got it!

I love research. Its true. I can not travel without doing massive research on my options- and nothing is a better resource than Trip Advisor. I found a place in Santorini that won multiple awards for Travelers' Choice:

Best Hidden Gem | Best for Romance | Best Service

After reading the reviews online I was bound and determined to stay at Anastasis Apartments.

If you read Trip Advisor like I do, you're aware that reviews like this are few and far in between. Check it out

After contacting the owner I found out that reservations for 2010 would begin at the end of September, and judging by the forums, everyone was trying to get in on one of the few rooms this small establishment offered.

I watched the time difference and right at the stroke of midnight in Greece, I submitted our request - I still got the last room available for our time frame.

BUT WE GOT IT!!
(I can't wait!)






(The nearest town - Oia)

blind corks!

Choosing the wine was a fun task in our household. I'm sure more than some of you have been party to the wine and cheese events held in our circle of friends - you know the drill, a few bottles of wine and a sampler from the Whole Foods cheese selection, then spend the evening laughing with friends.. so what better way to pick our wine than host a wine and cheese? Sadly, as we live in an apartment, we couldnt have as many people over as we would like, but we ended up with a great group of dedicated tasters! Thanks again everyone :)

The rules? Bring a $10 dollar bottle of local (read: support local business when ever possible) wine - we then taped over the labels (NO JUDGING BY THE BOTTLE! - not that I would ever do that *wink*) and broke out the "star cards" that J & I made with a few stamps and some pretty paper.

We came out with some great ideas! Now we'll just have to host a martini tasting party! Wedding planning has its perks!

with the red bottoms..

My dress AND shoes arrived over the weekend, now I'm starting the task of pulling together the "look" for the big day. HELP! Which clip do you think would look best?


Here are the shoes:





I really like the idea of adding a little bling to the shoes so they "pop" a little more when I'm walking. I've found a few cool shoe clip ideas on Etsy:

The designer will make them custom. Would they be best in red to match the bottom of the shoes or white to match the dress?



Or maybe something a little more glam?

I said yes

to THE dress. It was just like "they" (oh the ambiguous "they") say. When you put on the dress, you know its the dress you will say your vows in, the dress you will be wearing when you step into the next phase of your life. I never expected to find it on my first stop, and honestly, I was worried about the whole process. The blogs and forums I'm addicted to will tell you, dress shopping is about as fun as used car shopping, however, I did not have that experience at my dress shop.


On a suggestion from Karen's coworker, we went to a small shop downtown called "Belltown Bridal". We showed up in force. Me, my Mom, amazing bridesmaid Dejia, Aunt Jane, Aunt Judy, Karen, Karen's Mom and her future Mother in Law. I can't say enough positive things about the place. The owner, Melissa, goes to NYC sample sales and brings back beautiful designer dresses that are priced reasonably. These dresses would never see the Northwest if it wasn't for Melissa. She knew her inventory, and ran around finding the perfect dresses for each of our body types. I tried on about 5 dresses, of all different types and shapes... they were all lovely, and I "liked" them all, but there was no "love".

Then I stepped into MY dress. It looks like the designer took my measurements and custom made a dress just for me. It was THE dress. If I was one of those cheesy brides, I would say it brought a tear to my eye, but I'm not, so.. I wont. *wink*

Its perfect.

And no, I'm not going to show it to you!

You'll have to wait and see :)

XoXo

inspired...

progress

We're making some, I promise!

Jeremy has been in NYC for work, and I've been working from home during the I90 construction project, so needless to say I've had a bit of extra time on my hands to obsess over things like hair pieces, bridesmaids dresses, centerpieces, and stationary ideas. Weddingbee.com has become my new must visit site. I tried the knot.com and brides.com, but found there to be too much - just TOO much info, and not enough diy details. Wedding planning and crafting will end up as my hobby for the next 11 months.

Some check off the big list of things to do:

1. We got the bling re-sized. We opted not to send it back to Blue Nile and wait the 2 weeks for the shipping. I can not live without my pretty sparkles that long :) We instead went into EE Robins. Wow is all I can say for their customer service there! Amazing, and no pressure. They re-sized my ring in a few hours, gave me a free cleaning kit which works wonders and let us look over all the wedding rings. They are a little pricier than some, but the level of service has made us decide to get the rings there. Oh and I am a lucky girl, because the ring J likes is less than $400. We took the ring from a 5.5 to a 4.5 and dare I say its still a little too big! I have tiny fingers, but at least I no longer have to worry about it falling off.

2 The venue is BOOKED! Deposit paid for (thanks dad!) and we're ready to roll. We really lucked out getting that date, and the coordinator told us two people came in after we penciled in, trying to steal my date! One even offered to pay extra. I not only love the fact that its Memorial weekend Sunday, but also the exactly one year date from the proposal.

3. I think we found our photographer! I was getting rather dismayed with photography prices. We both feel really strongly that we want a GOOD photographer with an eye for the artistic shot. No boring wedding photos for us please! I found a few people I really loved and unfortunately their STARTING prices were around $2500-3500. I even decided, screw it, I want a good photographer and I'm just going to bite the cost. I ended up emailing someone I loved but she was already booked for 2010, so I resorted to seeing what I could find on Craigslist(lots of bad photographers, believe me!) and that's how we found Stacy. Her prices are very reasonable, and we just love her style, not to mention she will do a free Trash the Dress shot for us!

We have a meeting with her on the 29th. You can see here work here: Stacy Jacobsen Photography

Up next on our big list of things to do: We have an engagement photoshoot with Karen this Saturday, and then once the photos are finished, we're going to design the save the dates and finish getting this website up and running for publication!

Meanwhile, I really cant wait for Jeremy to get home tomorrow night! I miss him tons, and well... I don't do garbage, and its full! ;-)

Honeymoon Planning

I've slacked on the wedding planning a bit lately and instead focused on the honeymoon. My moms coworker generously offered us her timeshare week through RCI.com and as we started doing our research we found things to be booking quickly! The resorts on Santorini were 100% booked for next summer and we found only a few islands in Greece to still have remaining options. I then had to begin the research I was hoping to start on later in the year. Our choices were Crete, Rhodes, and Corfu. Corfu looked amazing but as I delved into it further I started hearing about what a huge resort it was for the British, and what can I say, I don't think British vacationers are really what I want to be around. Its other downside was its location, close to Italy but far from our ultimate destination of Santorini.

Rhodes is seeped in history but a little off the beaten path by Turkey. So we decided on Crete. Crete is a huge island but I started doing my research and decided we would stay near Rethymno which is nicely located near the center of the island.

Then came the issue of timing as the wedding is on a Sunday and the resorts only book Sat-Sat. Plus the flight which takes 18-22 hours and once you land, the time change will put you a day later. I decided we would stay in town and leave for the honeymoon the following weekend. I had to time ferries, flights on puddle jumpers, etc. but I do believe it all worked out in the end! We'll rent a car, do a week exploring the islands historic locations and beaches and then move on to Santorini followed lastly by Athens. Let me tell you.. Santorini is not a cheap place! I'm really glad we have this timeshare which will allow us more time in the country without blowing the budget.

A few pics of Crete: