Where in the world...

has Allie been?

Yes, I'm sure you've been wondering where I've been and why I haven't been blogging. You're saying to yourself, "Self, WHEN is she going to get it together and share with us again?"

The wait is over my friends. All two of you will be relieved to know I've busted through the blogging block and am BACK.

Even better? I'm going to let my wedding planning throw up all over you.

You just visualized that, didn't you?

I'm sorry.

Sort of.

If you aren't the sort that gives a rats ass about wedding crap, I'd suggest you mosey on back to your Facebook games - Draw Something is rather popular or so I hear.

Oh, you're still here? Awesome. Here we go.

So I'm getting married. Not sure if you heard that news. The Big Day (as it shall be referred to from now on) is November 5, 2012. Yes, that's Monday, November 5, 2012. What can I say? I'm a non-traditional bride.

Keeping with that non-traditional theme, we're having a destination wedding. We've chosen Riviera Maya, Mexico as the location paradise to host a small group of friends and family who are able to join us and celebrate The Big Day.

If you did the math, you'll realize that The Big Day is just over 7 months away. Yeah, that means it's pretty much go-time for all things wedding-related for an OCD planner-type like me.

I have:

-chair sashes

-various shells and starfish

-my dress, and shoes

-wedding night lingerie (woot!)

-base of our invites and envelopes

-guest book

-monogram postcards

-return address labels

-materials to make my veil

-our photographer is booked - Lotus Blossom Photography (the BEST!!!) 

-our registries are done (Macy's & Crate & Barrel)

-reservations made at the resort for us & our guests

-my sash & hair thingeemabob have been created and are on the way 

We still need: 

-rest of materials for invites, including enclosures

-his attire 

-favors (I have my ideas, but am wanting to keep a few things a surprise!) 

-need to order my bouquet and his boutonniere, decide if we're doing corsages/bouts for the families

-paper lanterns for aisle decoration & reception decorations

-book our airfare (minor detail, right??)

-consider booking a Trash the Dress session in Mexico (don't worry mom, the dress really doesn't get trashed...) 

-parasols for decorations/photos - I would love to have enough of these for all of our guests for shade, but I am not hauling them down to Mexico! 

-finalize our rehearsal dinner menu selections

-finalize our reception menu choices (so we can put them on the RSVP, wedding website, etc)

-figure out what the heck to do about centerpieces

-alterations made to my dress (planned for late summer)

I need to make: 

-my veil

-assemble the invites once I get the pieces

-place cards (once we have the RSVP/menu selections back)

-table #'s

-programs 

-thank you banner (for our photog, will then make a thank you notecard)

-wedding weekend events timeline

-playlists of music for ceremony (he's in charge of playlist for dinner & receptions)

-menus for rehearsal dinner

-put together the ceremony elements (aka write our vows)

Now I'm a little stressed that the last two lists are longer than the first one. Guess I'd better get to work!!! 

Enjoy your new day! 

Walking in Venice

One of the things I loved in Venice is just wandering around. It's not that hard to find your way, just watch for the directions painted on the buildings pointing towards St. Mark's Square, or the Rialto Bridge, or Piazza Roma.

The architecture in Venice is amazing. Rather than ramble on, I'll just let you enjoy it.

During our wandering, we naturally got hungry, and found a lovely little trattoria with a courtyard for lunch. They let me into the kitchen for pictures, though the chef insisted he not be in them. Look at the piles of fresh pasta on top!

We had AMAZING food.

Gnocci:

and lasagna:

after lunch we took the water taxi back to our side of Venice. here are a few final pictures of this lovely city:

I loved every minute of our trip. Italy was amazing, and I would love to go back for another visit. I'd like to spend more time in Florence, Venice, and then see Naples and Capri next time. Whenever that may be.

Enjoy your new day!

The Canals

When folks found out I was going to visit Venice as part of this trip, I heard two things:
1) I LOVE VENICE
and
2) I HATE VENICE

I didn't hear many thoughts that were in between the two. No "meh, Venice is ok", or "Venice is mediocre". Everyone who has visited had one of the two polar opposite opinions. Since Venice was on my bucket list, I was determine to go with an open mind.

My first impression of Venice (after being thrown off the Voyager of the Seas, our home for the last 6 nights) was Piazzale Roma. This is the only place cars, buses and such are allowed on the islands of Venice. If you're going to or from Venice in a motorized vehicle, then Piazzale Roma is as far as you're going. From here you can get the water taxi, a private taxi (boat) or walk.

Here's a tip for my fellow Americanos who may be contemplating going to Venice: pack light. Those bridges are no joke my friends.

This is the little canal that our B&B was on - we ate our european breakfast and drank our cappuccino
sitting along this canal. And that cappuccino? made me want to slap my Keurig and scream "that ain't real coffee!!". I still dream of the cappuccino (and the vino, and other things that end with "o").

I know. It's *exactly* how I dreamed it would be. Maybe even better.

The requisite gondola

Complete with the asshole-ish gondolier (he's pretty and he knew it)

Oh how I adored wandering along the canals. I pinched myself several times - was I really in Venice??

YES. Yes I was!

St Mark's Square

I loved this perspective:

The infamous pigeons



















The winged lion (a symbol of Venice)

The Grand Canal & The Rialto Bridge

You could hire private water taxi to get around

Or enjoy a leisurely (and expensive) gondola ride

We chose to walk or use the public water taxis. 

Sunset in Venice on the Grand Canal 

The Grand Canal at Sunset - how about that lighting? 

If you haven't figured it out yet, I seriously loved Venice. It was more than I'd imagined. Old world charm, amazing architecture, the canals, the boats, the history - incredible. 

I have 2 more posts of Venice for you - one of the wandering/shopping day (wait til you see some of the Murano glass!!), and one just of the architecture. 

And yes, this makes 3 days of posting in a row. I'm on a roll, y'all!! 

Finally: Venice! Vino!

We had a leisurely day at sea following our port call in Sicily. And when I say "leisurely", I mean the only reason I got out of bed was to eat. I was that sick/exhausted. I slept off and on most of the day, while mom read on the balcony (we kept the door open so the soothing sounds of the sea made it a PERFECT day to stay in bed!).

The sea day also meant that our lovely cruise of the Mediterranean was quickly coming to an end. Our disembarkation port was Venice. Luckily we planned 2 extra nights there to explore.

I loved Venice. Loved it. Every stair, every bridge, every winding little alley and canal.

Before we got to the canals and the architecture, we took a tour over to Trieste (the mainland) to visit a winery and do a little wine tasting.

Ok maybe it's more accurate to say we did a LOT of wine tasting.

The estate was amazing. It would be the perfect setting for a wedding - wait! There was one happening while we were visiting!

(yes people, when you're a bride-to-be, you're automatically wedding-obsessed. I'd just like to remind you that this took place LAST MAY. 2 months before I even became engaged. for the record.)

















wine.

more wine.

and more wine.

have I mentioned yet just how PHENOMENAL the wine is in Italy? I don't care if you never drink wine at home - DRINK WINE IN ITALY. It must be a law somewhere.

I'll leave you with a few more pics from this amazing winery.

Vino. Good stuff.