coming along

oooohhhh! i haven't posted in a while...practically 2 months! but that does not mean i have not been busy as a bee with wedding craziness. HA!

first off, it was maddening personalizing all the invitations - just ask my future mother-in-law and her wrist; then the mailing to all corners of the globe...but YA! they are gone, out of my hands and left up to fate. well, more like the fate of the mexican mailing system. but most of you have reported with excitement having received them, so i will conclude that this chapter of the wedding planning was a success. yay. another one down on the list of 115 items i have left to do, according to the knot, 17 of which are overdue apparently.

but the items on the check list that i have managed to get to are finally falling into place though.

our caterer is set, we have the tasting tomorrow;
we found a DJ willing to play all night long;
our photographer has an amazing portfolio - we can't wait for her to capture our day...

so as you can imagine i am exhaling sighs of relief as i check one to-do after another off my list. but we are not off the hook just quite yet. now comes all the itty bitty details that have to be worked on...

besos.

the lovely lotus

symbols. our world is full of them. some we create, others we find in nature.

the beauty of symbols is that they are wonderfully objective. we all use symbols in our own way. we find our own meanings, apply them to how we live our lives, even use them to forecast the future sometimes. some of us only have one to live by; others have many for different situations they find themselves in.

living in china exposed us to a whole new set of symbols - some we were already familiar with - and others that are not so common in western culture. it was fascinating to learn how lives revolved around auspicious symbols and important decisions were made based on individual interpretations.

because of what is happening in our own universe (read: getting married!), we found meaning in the lotus flower.

based on chinese customs and buddhist beliefs, the lotus flower is a powerful symbol for beauty, faithfulness, and light. they are used to inspire people to continue striving through difficulties, to mirror the way the lotus flower itself grows: bringing beauty and light from the murky darkness at the bottom of the pond.

The words for lotus in Chinese have the same meanings as: to bind, connect (in marriage), one after the other, uninterrupted, to love, and modesty.

who knows how accurate these interpretations may be, but like i said, the beauty of symbols lie in our own ability to apply it to our personal experience.



*thanks to these sites for info*

chinese symbols
lotus legend

a bit of class

i don't know if you quite recall my dilemma (everything with weddings is a dilemma, come now!) regarding the wedding invitation wording? probably not. :P

anyway, we wanted our invitations to exude a slight air of conservative and timeless class, without being too uptight and boring. read: a fine mix to create modern elegance...

i am oh-so-very-lucky that my future mother-in-law has fabulous handwriting, and that she offered to hand write each and every invite in beautiful calligraphy. obviously we were going to let it be a surprise, but i'm just so excited about them that i had to hint a little ;)




looking through so many calligraphy websites, it is astounding what some charge per line for invitations. i guess everything is relative with budgets, but if you have a friend or a relative with great handwriting, this is definitely a super wedding DIY that adds tons of flair to the occasion and just that special touch to make your guests feel special.

just make sure whomever is writing has practiced a lot AND has great pens! good luck! :)

be prepared to marry a mexican...

with all the bureaucracy and paperwork involved in getting married...jeez. it's no wonder couples run on to vegas!

just to give you a rundown of all the red tape, here is what i have to present at the civil registrar's office in cuernavaca:

• original and 3 copies of my birth certificate with the proper stamp or seal of the issuing authority of the country of origin OR legalized by the mexican embassy in the issuing country. documents must be translated into spanish by the officially designated translator of the municipality of cuernavaca.

• original and 3 copies of the authorization to contract marriage issued by the national institute of migration.

• original and 3 copies of my passport.

• original and 3 copies of my actual status in the country (as of now, tourist).

PLUS!!!

• blood tests for sexually transmitted diseases and blood type.

• medical certificate from an approved hospital or health center confirming health (and once you have this certificate, it's only valid 15 days, so rush rush!)

• copy of the id's of all the witnesses (4).

• certificate of attendance to a family planning course.

• all documents have to be presented with 8 days minimun in order to reserve a date for marriage.

do you have a headache yet after reading all that??? i hope not because there is more still...

to get the authorization from the national institute of migration, they need:

• original and copy of the application form signed and approved.

• original and copy of my passport and all pages.

• copy of my migratory card.

• original and 2 copies of the official receipt of payment for migratory services.

• a letter signed by both of us in which we declare that we have no legal impediment to contract marriage, and to indicate when and where we plan to contract marriage.

sigh. i don't even have the energy to write anything more after all that.

if you ever plan to getting married in mexico to a mexican, check out these sites for the exact information:

registro civil cuernavaca
instituto nacional de migracion

my chair obsession

as most other brides-to-be, i have my fair share of bookmarked "wedding websites" that i refer to now and then. but now i am starting to think that their sole purpose of existence is information overload. usually i end up more confused than when i started, and no where near the original idea i had to begin with.

case in point today: CHAIRS. have you really thought about the variety of chair styles that exist? i know, usually we don't pay much attention, but trust me, when the time comes to make a choice between this or that one, you'll start to care ;)

what confused me the most is that there were tons of photos with ideas, but no names for the chairs. so how exactly was i supposed to tell the banquet people which chair i specifically wanted???

thus, my afternoon long search on google images for all sorts of chairs. we'll stick to the typical wedding ones...




to begin with, let's start with the most popular chiavari chair, or better known as the tiffany chair. or sometimes spelled as the chivari chair. usually comes in all colors, including gold and silver for those metallic occasions.









then there is the chateau chair (and reason for my search) also available in all colors, with or without integrated padding.










and of course the typical outdoor folding chair. makes you think about spring garden weddings for some reason.









this one i had never heard of; the napoleon chair. i think i like this one the best though.










and to finish up my chair obsession for the day, here is the no name chair. i call it that because it was filed under the chiavari chairs, but is obviously different. i can find out if you want though.









thankfully, the people at Qingdao Aoxin Wood Industry Co., Ltd. helped me out by being the only company that popped up on a google search to have all these items on hand with exact descriptions and labels to clear up my confusion. You can check out their website here in case you are interested in buying wholesale furniture for events. and if you do buy, let me know. i figure my four years experience buying from china just may help you out ;)

so now the question remains...what will my caterer think when i call up demanding napoleon banquet chairs?

*thanks to my dear friend S. who listened to my chair rant!*

**all photos belong to Qingdao Aoxin Wood Industry Co., Ltd.**

give up sex and blog instead?

ok, well not really. you can exhale now - sigh. plus if i did so - i probably would not have a wedding left to plan.

i should seriously start posting my skype chat conversations with my brother. i find them hilarious - maybe you will too. so this entry was totally his idea (although granted, i did help him come to think of it while venting my frustrations and anxieties!) his suggested title: "in an effort not to get pregnant before my wedding, i have decided to give up sex and blog instead".

why do we discuss topics like these, you might ask? well, last thanksgiving i went to visit said brother in new york, where we promptly visited countless wedding ateliers (with no intention of purchase, of course!) but, alas, i found the dress! after numerous aimless circles around many manhattan blocks, we returned and bought the gown. AAAHHH - at this point mind you, i didn't even have a date for our wedding!

thus, my life since november 2008 has revolved around an effort to maintain the measurements taken of my body that beautiful fall day. little diet here and there, trying to maintain some sort of exercise routine, and bringing a tape measure with me everywhere. you know, in case i need to measure my bust or waist spur of the moment. something like that.

what has me completely panicked every month though is the nerve wracking wait for my period to come. the day it arrives is marked by a sigh of absolute relief and happiness - jeez - i can't remember having these same kinds of emotions since...? i can't even remember...but definitely from the days where getting pregnant would have been a big NO-NO. oops.

and this is coming from me - someone whose maternal instinct has really kicked her in the ass and made it clear that the clock is ticking and it's about time. i really can't wait to have babies and start a family.

i just hope it happens after i look stunning and slim in my gown :)

a little explaining

sorry for the confusing dates. i was writing this blog on our wedding website, but since readers can't subscribe to it, i decided to add it here too so you know when there is a new post. so all the posts from here on down are what was already on the wedding website - if you didn't get a chance to follow it there, read below! :)

new posts coming your way! :)

besos