I forgot to mention, after I blogged about maybe doing that cleanse I immediately had another cup of tea (even though normally I only drink one per day) and then I went home that night and made a huge pot of pasta. It's like my body was prepping for deprivation or something!
Clearly I'm not ready. Maybe someday!
Showing posts with label vegan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegan. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Review of Quantum Wellness
Well, I finally made it through this book. I had to renew it twice, meaning I had it out of the library for over two months, which must be a new record for me.
Really, though, what did I expect? I found out about the book when I was reading US Weekly at the gym...one must consider the source, I guess! I was reading about Oprah's vegan cleanse and thinking that sounded interesting, and the article mentioned that the author's appearance on her show was the reason Oprah did it. So I checked the book out. Sigh.
First, I couldn't find any credentials for this author other than that she's written other self-help books (I checked her website). She talks about being a former model in the book, and no offense to models, but I'm not sure how modeling qualifies a person to advise people how to live their lives. The book cover is riddled with blurbs from other self-help gurus like Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson (sp?), so I guess those are her credentials? I wasn't sure.
Second, I really should have known myself better than to think I could read a self-help book successfully. I was rolling my eyes the whole time. I hate the patronizing, new-agey tone employed in the self-help books I've picked up, and this one was no exception. The writing was just okay, and in the beginning of the book, after a bunch of poorly-constructed sentences, I thought, "Am I really going to be able to read this?" But I did. I had to skim, but I read it.
Third, I was put off by all the talk of religion and "Spirit". It was like she was trying to appeal to everyone with these blanket statements, but I couldn't see it appealing to anyone. But that's just me.
And finally, even though I didn't have an entirely open mind about this book, I could see the value in some of her advice. The problem is, the stuff I agreed with, I'm already doing. I have already cleaned out my house to get rid of stuff I'm not using and create a better home environment. I already know how to figure out what's really bugging me when I'm worried about something. I'm already trying to eat better, exercise, etc.
One thing she brought up was keeping a journal, which I often think about but never seem to do. She recommends keeping a food journal as well as a journal of just random thoughts/what you're worrying about, so you can pick out patterns. I might try doing that.
She also talks extensively about the meat industry and what happens to animals...awful, awful things. I already knew a lot about it, which is why I've cut down on meat consumption and tried to eat at restaurants or buy from grocery stores that get the meat from local farms...I may eventually go vegan, but I'm not quite ready for that. And that brings me to the one message that I really appreciated about this book: that just because you're not ready to do everything, doesn't mean you can't do something. I am not ready to go vegan and give up leather, etc., but I am ready to eat less meat, so that's what I'm doing. She calls it "leaning into" your goal. I agree with her that by taking small steps toward a goal, you're much more likely to commit to a change. If you did it all at once, it would be overwhelming, and you'd revert.
The cleanse, which was the reason I picked up the book in the first place, was one of the most interesting parts of the book for me. She advises doing a cleanse (up to three weeks, as long as you can manage within that time period) where you don't ingest any animal products, alcohol, caffeine, sugar (or chemical sugar substitutes, either!), or gluten. Ulp.
I'm still thinking about doing this, but my biggest stumbling blocks, I've found, are the gluten and the caffeine. Not that I'm drinking a pot of coffee a day, but I so enjoy a nice warm cup of tea or a nice soy latte in the morning. I love holding the warm cup in my hands and sipping a sweet (from Splenda or Equal, not sugar) creamy caffeinated beverage to start my day. Especially on a cold rainy day like today. I must be more addicted than I think I am, because the thought of giving it up, even temporarily, is a little alarming!
Re: gluten, I am a total carb girl. I love to snack on pretzels; I love noodles; I love peanut butter sammies on whole wheat bread, I love bagels, etc. That one would be really hard too.
So, also as she advises, I'm just sitting with the idea for awhile to get used to it, and I may decide to do it at some point in the future. I will need a backup plan for how to replace what I'm cutting out, though, or I'll be off the cleanse after one day!
She gives vegan recipes in an appendix at the back of the book, which I found disappointing. I think they are meant for folks who have never tried eating vegan food before, because she calls for a lot of fake meat in them. Anyone who has ever tried grocery store fake meat knows that (most of) it sucks. You're much better off getting your protein from beans, or sources like quinoa, etc., than you are eating tasteless approximations of meat...nothing makes me miss meat more than grocery store faux chicken or beef! (There are some exceptions, but they are typically found in more specialty stores, not your average grocery store.)
I have also simultaneously checked the Veganomicon (a huge vegan cookbook...I love that the title blatantly refrences Evil Dead!) out of the library, and am enjoying it...this one might be an owner. A book like this would be much more helpful to me than those other recipes, I think!
So, while this was not my favorite book ever, I did find some value in it. Imagine that!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Tasting at Venue #3
So, if all goes right and the gods of football are kind to us (and it seems that they will be), we're going with venue #3. The price is right, mostly (more on that in a minute), we like the coordinator, we like the room, our guests can stay at the hotel, and it's local to us.
Mr. T, the MOH, and I went to the venue on Saturday for a tasting. I apologize that I don't have photos of the food. I brought the camera, but I felt awkward taking any photos. It was a unique situation to be presented with food and then have two people (the chef and the catering coordinator) stare at us while we ate it. The assistant catering coordinator, Daniel, even wrote down what we said after we tasted stuff. It was really odd.
As a reminder, we have to use the hotel's caterer if we have our wedding there. It's one of the reasons that we can afford the venue fee. So, we had our fingers crossed that the tasting would go well, and mostly it didn't disappoint.
We started with appetizers: a spring roll and a coconut crusted prawn with chile sauce. They were both tasty but I thought having two fried options would be odd, greasy, and heavy. So we're keeping the prawn and looking for another option for a passed appetizer. We'd also have a cheese station set up at a table. Since I doubt I'll get many of the appetizers, I don't really care if I can't eat them all, so cheese is fine with me!
We then tried a salad with mixed greens, persimmons, dried cranberries, nuts, and a blood orange dressing. This was super yummy and the dressing was not too vinegar-y (I mostly don't like salad dressings because all you can taste is vinegar). We approved that one right away.
For the sides, we tried a broccolini. This was yummy but I wondered if it would get wilty on the buffet. We opted to have some broccolini but also some roasted root veggies (beets, squash, potatoes, yams, etc.).
For the starches, we had a butternut squash, which was yummy but ruled out immediately because we're going to have it with the veggies, and we tried a saffron rice, which was just okay.
And finally, the entrees. So, I had requested a pork dish for Mr. T, salmon for me, and a VEGAN dish for our veggie friends, and also so I could eat it. We started with the "vegan" butternut squash ravioli in olive oil with sage. It tasted really delicious, but the ravioli were already hard from sitting out, and they hadn't been waiting that long. Daniel said these typically fare better with some type of cream sauce. Then he broke the news that the ravioli can't be vegan anyway, because there's egg in the pasta. Then, much later, it came out that the ravioli had some cheese in them!! I took a lactaid pill right away, but my stomach still hurt a bit later. Um, hello, how not-vegan could this dish get? So, we're back to the drawing board on that. The chef suggested polenta cakes with a veggie ragout, or a lentil/veggie kind of stew. We haven't decided what would be good yet. Clearly vegan is not this chef's forte, but hopefully we can work something out.
The other entrees went much better--the salmon had a delicious salsa on top, and the pork kicked ass, with a green apple/brandy sauce. That was our favorite thing at the tasting by far.
After the tasting we looked the room over again and Mr. T declared that he liked it even more the second viewing. Daniel seemed disinclined for us to have our ceremony and our reception there b/c of the awkwardness of chivvying our guests out of their seats to clear the reception space. I told him our guests would have to deal, and be thankful we weren't asking them to move the chairs themselves! Really, I think our friends will be low-key about it. Daniel also told us that the chairs they have in-house suck, so we'd be looking at an additional $400 for chair rentals, plus $300 for sound equipment rentals! Lots of little hidden costs started popping up...I guess on the initial visit they just want you to like it, and then they spring the fees on you slowly. We still haven't heard about the budget for our buffet, so I'm waiting to hear back on that one. Cross your fingers for us!!
Daniel also advised against having the bridal/groom party sit at a head table. He told us they had one at his wedding and discovered everyone stares at you while you're eating and it's uncomfortable. I thought that was hilarious. I rather liked him.
After the tasting (which we had to walk to because there was a football game that day, and hence, no parking) we decided we wanted something sweet and walked to a local gelato shop. Mmmmgelato. We talked about our photo-taking options, since the hotel doesn't have a ton. Daniel recommended Faculty Glade on the Cal Campus. I figured we'd end up on campus, since it's right there and very scenic, and also my alma-mater.
So, things are looking good that we'll sign a contract on the venue soon, fingers crossed. And then most of the hard stuff will be done!
Mr. T, the MOH, and I went to the venue on Saturday for a tasting. I apologize that I don't have photos of the food. I brought the camera, but I felt awkward taking any photos. It was a unique situation to be presented with food and then have two people (the chef and the catering coordinator) stare at us while we ate it. The assistant catering coordinator, Daniel, even wrote down what we said after we tasted stuff. It was really odd.
As a reminder, we have to use the hotel's caterer if we have our wedding there. It's one of the reasons that we can afford the venue fee. So, we had our fingers crossed that the tasting would go well, and mostly it didn't disappoint.
We started with appetizers: a spring roll and a coconut crusted prawn with chile sauce. They were both tasty but I thought having two fried options would be odd, greasy, and heavy. So we're keeping the prawn and looking for another option for a passed appetizer. We'd also have a cheese station set up at a table. Since I doubt I'll get many of the appetizers, I don't really care if I can't eat them all, so cheese is fine with me!
We then tried a salad with mixed greens, persimmons, dried cranberries, nuts, and a blood orange dressing. This was super yummy and the dressing was not too vinegar-y (I mostly don't like salad dressings because all you can taste is vinegar). We approved that one right away.
For the sides, we tried a broccolini. This was yummy but I wondered if it would get wilty on the buffet. We opted to have some broccolini but also some roasted root veggies (beets, squash, potatoes, yams, etc.).
For the starches, we had a butternut squash, which was yummy but ruled out immediately because we're going to have it with the veggies, and we tried a saffron rice, which was just okay.
And finally, the entrees. So, I had requested a pork dish for Mr. T, salmon for me, and a VEGAN dish for our veggie friends, and also so I could eat it. We started with the "vegan" butternut squash ravioli in olive oil with sage. It tasted really delicious, but the ravioli were already hard from sitting out, and they hadn't been waiting that long. Daniel said these typically fare better with some type of cream sauce. Then he broke the news that the ravioli can't be vegan anyway, because there's egg in the pasta. Then, much later, it came out that the ravioli had some cheese in them!! I took a lactaid pill right away, but my stomach still hurt a bit later. Um, hello, how not-vegan could this dish get? So, we're back to the drawing board on that. The chef suggested polenta cakes with a veggie ragout, or a lentil/veggie kind of stew. We haven't decided what would be good yet. Clearly vegan is not this chef's forte, but hopefully we can work something out.
The other entrees went much better--the salmon had a delicious salsa on top, and the pork kicked ass, with a green apple/brandy sauce. That was our favorite thing at the tasting by far.
After the tasting we looked the room over again and Mr. T declared that he liked it even more the second viewing. Daniel seemed disinclined for us to have our ceremony and our reception there b/c of the awkwardness of chivvying our guests out of their seats to clear the reception space. I told him our guests would have to deal, and be thankful we weren't asking them to move the chairs themselves! Really, I think our friends will be low-key about it. Daniel also told us that the chairs they have in-house suck, so we'd be looking at an additional $400 for chair rentals, plus $300 for sound equipment rentals! Lots of little hidden costs started popping up...I guess on the initial visit they just want you to like it, and then they spring the fees on you slowly. We still haven't heard about the budget for our buffet, so I'm waiting to hear back on that one. Cross your fingers for us!!
Daniel also advised against having the bridal/groom party sit at a head table. He told us they had one at his wedding and discovered everyone stares at you while you're eating and it's uncomfortable. I thought that was hilarious. I rather liked him.
After the tasting (which we had to walk to because there was a football game that day, and hence, no parking) we decided we wanted something sweet and walked to a local gelato shop. Mmmmgelato. We talked about our photo-taking options, since the hotel doesn't have a ton. Daniel recommended Faculty Glade on the Cal Campus. I figured we'd end up on campus, since it's right there and very scenic, and also my alma-mater.
So, things are looking good that we'll sign a contract on the venue soon, fingers crossed. And then most of the hard stuff will be done!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Engagement Party Afterglow
So Saturday was our engagement party, hosted by the MOH, BM, and another dear friend of ours (and her husband, who did a lot of the manual labor!). I wore a tea-length red dress that I bought for a friend's wedding, with my leopard-print stiletto heels (which surprisingly were fine to wear all night; I expected them to be less comfy) and Mr. T wore a dark blue button-down shirt, jeans, and his birthday Adidas. It was a little foreshadowing of our wedding outfits, since I'll be wearing a red dress and he'll have a dark blue suit on.
We didn't have to lift a finger other than bringing an iPod loaded with music and my old Polaroid camera (which I discovered doesn't work, but I'll get to that in a second). Mr. T was a little uncomfortable with having folks do everything for us, but I felt strangely liberated (and I am usually the control freak!). I knew my girls would take care of everything, though. The MOH also asked us to bring some framed pictures of us as decor for the food tables and I realized that I haven't printed a single photo out since we got a digital camera, so that's on my list of things to do before the wedding! All the photos I found of us were from years ago and we both look baby-faced...and thinner. I did find a couple of hilarious Halloween images: one of us as geishas, and one of us as Mulder and Scully. We went to Target that afternoon to get some frames for the photos and scored some for $2 each! We'll have to pick up more before the wedding, since I'd like to display a bunch of photos there as well.
We hit horrible traffic on the way over to the MOH's apartment and ended up being 40 minutes late to our own party. Mr. T called it being "fashionably late" and tried to keep me from getting too cranky about it. Once we got there, I was amazed at what a great job the ladies had done. The MOH was calling the theme "Halloween lite", so there was a skull on the door and a sign that had our names, hyphenated, followed by "Engagement Party;" the sign was in the shape of a spooky old castle.
Once we got inside we were greeted by the hilarious site of white and orange streamers in the hall, and a white tissue paper wedding bell with bats hanging from it. I laughed and laughed. Once we had drinks in hand (there were two signature drinks, named after us, and an elaborate and crazy bar set-up), I relaxed and got to chatting with folks. The Halloween and wedding decor was great, and there was a huge spread of food, although I realized I was so excited to talk to folks that I barely ate anything...no wonder you hear about all the couples who don't eat anything on their wedding day! The E-party team had everything running like a well-oiled machine, and we felt so taken care of and loved.
They had set up a guest book area with Polaroids; luckily my bridesmaid had brought her own Polaroid camera because mine just wouldn't do anything. I have no idea how to fix it; it's been at least 10 years since I last looked at it. I'd wager the battery's dead, but how to replace it? We couldn't figure it out. Anyway, although Polaroid is no longer making new film, they'd managed to find some, although it expired in 2004. It gave all the photos a sepia tone that was kind of neat. Still, I think my vague idea of having a Polaroid guest book at the wedding will have to remain unfulfilled, since the film situation will only get worse from here out. Don't worry, though, I have other ideas!
Anyway, folks got their picture taken and then signed next to their photo. It is a really fun memento from the evening! Mr. T's dad was there, although I think he felt a bit out of place since none of the other parents/older relatives came, which was unfortunate. My friend from high school came, and Mr. T's cousins, and the belly dance crew, and Mr. T's office, and my book club (the bookbabes). I showed off my ring; Mr. T and I had been joking that we needed to have a fancy jeweler's lamp set up so that I could do showings every 15 minutes. Folks seemed to like it, or at least they said they did! ;-)
One of my belly dance troupemates picked up vegan cakes from Millennium; since I'm a lactard she wanted us to have cake I could eat. There was a lemon one with white chocolate frosting and a chocolate one with yummy raspberry filling and chocolate frosting. Apparently she asked the baker to decorate them for Halloween, which first surprised the baker (um, mid-August!), and then amused her. She had to bring some ghost-shaped sprinkles from home and asked my troupemate not to tell anyone she did that, since Millennium doesn't use any artificial ingredients in their food! Mr. T and I did a ceremonial cake-cutting pose, which will probably be the first and last time for that, since we're doing cupcakes for our wedding.
A couple of folks disobeyed our "no gifts" request (defiantly!) and we got a great bottle of champagne, which we'll probably pop open on our 11th anniversary this year, and we also got a nice bottle of tequila and a box of candy. Ah...booze and sugar, the way to my heart.
The MOH sent us home with tons of yummy middle eastern food, the leftover cake, and these hilarious bride and groom rubber duckies that now reside in our bathroom.
The next day we hung out with Mr. T's dad, watched the Olympics, and got some dinner. It was a fantastic weekend, but I'm exhausted today. It felt like a test run for the wedding, only on a smaller scale...very educational! My one regret is that Mr. T and I didn't spend more time together at the party...we have sort of an unofficial "divide and conquer" strategy at parties to get to talk to more people. At our wedding, though, I told him I want to hang out with my husband, and he agreed.
Seeing how smoothly everything went made me reconsider hiring a day-of coordinator (DOC). I have a little idea about that...gotta clear it with Mr. T and we'll see what happens...
We didn't have to lift a finger other than bringing an iPod loaded with music and my old Polaroid camera (which I discovered doesn't work, but I'll get to that in a second). Mr. T was a little uncomfortable with having folks do everything for us, but I felt strangely liberated (and I am usually the control freak!). I knew my girls would take care of everything, though. The MOH also asked us to bring some framed pictures of us as decor for the food tables and I realized that I haven't printed a single photo out since we got a digital camera, so that's on my list of things to do before the wedding! All the photos I found of us were from years ago and we both look baby-faced...and thinner. I did find a couple of hilarious Halloween images: one of us as geishas, and one of us as Mulder and Scully. We went to Target that afternoon to get some frames for the photos and scored some for $2 each! We'll have to pick up more before the wedding, since I'd like to display a bunch of photos there as well.
We hit horrible traffic on the way over to the MOH's apartment and ended up being 40 minutes late to our own party. Mr. T called it being "fashionably late" and tried to keep me from getting too cranky about it. Once we got there, I was amazed at what a great job the ladies had done. The MOH was calling the theme "Halloween lite", so there was a skull on the door and a sign that had our names, hyphenated, followed by "Engagement Party;" the sign was in the shape of a spooky old castle.
Once we got inside we were greeted by the hilarious site of white and orange streamers in the hall, and a white tissue paper wedding bell with bats hanging from it. I laughed and laughed. Once we had drinks in hand (there were two signature drinks, named after us, and an elaborate and crazy bar set-up), I relaxed and got to chatting with folks. The Halloween and wedding decor was great, and there was a huge spread of food, although I realized I was so excited to talk to folks that I barely ate anything...no wonder you hear about all the couples who don't eat anything on their wedding day! The E-party team had everything running like a well-oiled machine, and we felt so taken care of and loved.
They had set up a guest book area with Polaroids; luckily my bridesmaid had brought her own Polaroid camera because mine just wouldn't do anything. I have no idea how to fix it; it's been at least 10 years since I last looked at it. I'd wager the battery's dead, but how to replace it? We couldn't figure it out. Anyway, although Polaroid is no longer making new film, they'd managed to find some, although it expired in 2004. It gave all the photos a sepia tone that was kind of neat. Still, I think my vague idea of having a Polaroid guest book at the wedding will have to remain unfulfilled, since the film situation will only get worse from here out. Don't worry, though, I have other ideas!
Anyway, folks got their picture taken and then signed next to their photo. It is a really fun memento from the evening! Mr. T's dad was there, although I think he felt a bit out of place since none of the other parents/older relatives came, which was unfortunate. My friend from high school came, and Mr. T's cousins, and the belly dance crew, and Mr. T's office, and my book club (the bookbabes). I showed off my ring; Mr. T and I had been joking that we needed to have a fancy jeweler's lamp set up so that I could do showings every 15 minutes. Folks seemed to like it, or at least they said they did! ;-)
One of my belly dance troupemates picked up vegan cakes from Millennium; since I'm a lactard she wanted us to have cake I could eat. There was a lemon one with white chocolate frosting and a chocolate one with yummy raspberry filling and chocolate frosting. Apparently she asked the baker to decorate them for Halloween, which first surprised the baker (um, mid-August!), and then amused her. She had to bring some ghost-shaped sprinkles from home and asked my troupemate not to tell anyone she did that, since Millennium doesn't use any artificial ingredients in their food! Mr. T and I did a ceremonial cake-cutting pose, which will probably be the first and last time for that, since we're doing cupcakes for our wedding.
A couple of folks disobeyed our "no gifts" request (defiantly!) and we got a great bottle of champagne, which we'll probably pop open on our 11th anniversary this year, and we also got a nice bottle of tequila and a box of candy. Ah...booze and sugar, the way to my heart.
The MOH sent us home with tons of yummy middle eastern food, the leftover cake, and these hilarious bride and groom rubber duckies that now reside in our bathroom.
The next day we hung out with Mr. T's dad, watched the Olympics, and got some dinner. It was a fantastic weekend, but I'm exhausted today. It felt like a test run for the wedding, only on a smaller scale...very educational! My one regret is that Mr. T and I didn't spend more time together at the party...we have sort of an unofficial "divide and conquer" strategy at parties to get to talk to more people. At our wedding, though, I told him I want to hang out with my husband, and he agreed.
Seeing how smoothly everything went made me reconsider hiring a day-of coordinator (DOC). I have a little idea about that...gotta clear it with Mr. T and we'll see what happens...
Monday, August 11, 2008
Research
Mr. T and I attended his business partner's wedding this Saturday. Not only was it fun, but we got to make mental notes for our own wedding! They got married in lovely Half Moon Bay, which is about 45 minutes away (more with traffic, as we discovered on Saturday), a lovely coastal town. Many of the guests spent the night in the B&B where the wedding was held, but because we are frugal and also procrastinators, we opted to drive down and back both nights.
Friday night the couple had a meet and greet in a pub. I liked the casual atmosphere. We are planning on doing something similarly relaxed for our "rehearsal dinner"--probably a pizza party with pumpkin carving. I liked the idea of opening up the rehearsal dinner to more of the wedding guests. Depending on the venue, we may think about doing that...plus, it means fewer pumpkins that I have to carve myself! ;-)
Saturday we drove down in the afternoon. I was late getting ready, as usual, and Mr. T was going to get dressed at the B&B after we got there, so I'm afraid I stressed him out. I have to remember to leave myself extra time on our wedding day. Mr. T got dressed in one of his coworker's rooms and we got ourselves out to the B&B garden and found seats in time for the ceremony. It was a little chilly outside, but not too bad, and the garden was beautiful. The bride and groom walked in together to Iron & Wine. I like the idea of walking together, but I think my dad probably wants to "give me away". It's something to think about, though.
I was pretty restrained and didn't cry too much, but as usual, I did have a coughing fit in the middle of the ceremony. I always pack cough drops for this reason. I have a contrary throat. I liked that the bride and groom wrote a poem for their friends and family. I don't know if Mr. T and I are up to poetry. Perhaps he can do some drumming and I'll do an interpretive dance to tell folks how happy we are that they're at the wedding. On second thought...no.
One thing I noticed was that although I could hear their officiant fine (he had a mic), I couldn't hear any of the bride or groom's vows, because the mic was not handed over to them. That was a bummer. Note to self: Need mic for all speakers at the ceremony.
After the ceremony we mingled and had appetizers and drinks. They weren't serving hard alcohol, but luckily the B&B had a bar, so I went and bought myself a drink...or rather, one of Mr. T's business partners bought me a drink! I would really like to make sure there's hard alcohol at our wedding, if for me alone. Some folks just don't like beer or wine. So, even if we have to go cash bar for the liquor, we've gotta do it.
The mingling was fun but perhaps a touch too long. I was pretty hungry by the time dinner came (most of the appetizers had dairy in them, so being a lactard, I didn't eat much). Note to self: provide some nondairy appetizers. Not that I expected that at someone else's wedding, but at mine, I'm gonna eat something! ;-) The other thing that happened during this time is that folks started claiming tables (there was no seating chart). I didn't notice until almost too late; luckily, we were able to score a table together with Mr. T's work crew. Dennise, you told me that a seating chart was the way to go, but I didn't quite believe you. Now, I think you may have been right all along!
The bride designed, wrote, and illustrated a cookbook for the wedding favors. I forget where she got them printed, but it was relatively inexpensive. The groom wrote an album for the bride, so that CD was the other half of the wedding favor. I really loved the favors. The cookbook in particular is so handy! And it's funny and contains blurbs about what and how they cook together. Very fun idea.
Dinner was buffet style, which is what we're planning on doing. The line did get long for a minute, but it wasn't too bad. The food was great and had different options for meats, but only one vegetarian option, and no vegan options. At our wedding, even though I don't think any of our guests will be vegan, I'm definitely going vegan for one dish. We do know more than one lactard, so I think it's important for us.
During dinner there were a couple of toasts (avec champagne), which we couldn't really hear. I think that was because we were outside...the sound just floated away. We won't have that particular issue. The same for the music after dinner--it never really got loud enough for dancing. I don't think that was their focus, though. Before the wedding I had asked the bride if there would be dancing, and she shrugged and said "Maybe!"
The bride and groom did do their own sweet first dance, and even though we couldn't hear what they were dancing to, we all cheered.
After dinner it started to get really chilly, so we were happy to go inside for cake--carrot cake! It's funny, Mr. T and I were just discussing carrot cake, b/c he loves it, but didn't think it would be a popular enough flavor, so we opted not to serve it at the engagement party. Based on how quickly that thing disappeared, I don't think he needed to worry! I think we'll probably over-order on the cupcakes to make sure everyone gets one or two...dessert is really the best part, after all.
The bride and groom were happy and also very dazed. Now that all the planning was over, they didn't know what to do with themselves. The groom told me, "I feel like there's something I should be doing, but I guess I'm done!" I thought that was interesting and that probably happens all the time at weddings. I hope that we are able to enjoy the moment without worrying about what's left to do, or what didn't go right. I in particular am a worrier. I hope I can be in the moment!
The merriment went pretty late--the ceremony started at 2 and there were still folks there at 10, when we left--but I think that was in part because folks were staying at the Bed and Breakfast. It was nice, though; folks changed into comfy clothes and settled into the bar. I hope we have a good crew who stays with us till the end! Who am I kidding, I know we will!
All in all, a very satisfying kickoff to the wedding season.
Friday night the couple had a meet and greet in a pub. I liked the casual atmosphere. We are planning on doing something similarly relaxed for our "rehearsal dinner"--probably a pizza party with pumpkin carving. I liked the idea of opening up the rehearsal dinner to more of the wedding guests. Depending on the venue, we may think about doing that...plus, it means fewer pumpkins that I have to carve myself! ;-)
Saturday we drove down in the afternoon. I was late getting ready, as usual, and Mr. T was going to get dressed at the B&B after we got there, so I'm afraid I stressed him out. I have to remember to leave myself extra time on our wedding day. Mr. T got dressed in one of his coworker's rooms and we got ourselves out to the B&B garden and found seats in time for the ceremony. It was a little chilly outside, but not too bad, and the garden was beautiful. The bride and groom walked in together to Iron & Wine. I like the idea of walking together, but I think my dad probably wants to "give me away". It's something to think about, though.
I was pretty restrained and didn't cry too much, but as usual, I did have a coughing fit in the middle of the ceremony. I always pack cough drops for this reason. I have a contrary throat. I liked that the bride and groom wrote a poem for their friends and family. I don't know if Mr. T and I are up to poetry. Perhaps he can do some drumming and I'll do an interpretive dance to tell folks how happy we are that they're at the wedding. On second thought...no.
One thing I noticed was that although I could hear their officiant fine (he had a mic), I couldn't hear any of the bride or groom's vows, because the mic was not handed over to them. That was a bummer. Note to self: Need mic for all speakers at the ceremony.
After the ceremony we mingled and had appetizers and drinks. They weren't serving hard alcohol, but luckily the B&B had a bar, so I went and bought myself a drink...or rather, one of Mr. T's business partners bought me a drink! I would really like to make sure there's hard alcohol at our wedding, if for me alone. Some folks just don't like beer or wine. So, even if we have to go cash bar for the liquor, we've gotta do it.
The mingling was fun but perhaps a touch too long. I was pretty hungry by the time dinner came (most of the appetizers had dairy in them, so being a lactard, I didn't eat much). Note to self: provide some nondairy appetizers. Not that I expected that at someone else's wedding, but at mine, I'm gonna eat something! ;-) The other thing that happened during this time is that folks started claiming tables (there was no seating chart). I didn't notice until almost too late; luckily, we were able to score a table together with Mr. T's work crew. Dennise, you told me that a seating chart was the way to go, but I didn't quite believe you. Now, I think you may have been right all along!
The bride designed, wrote, and illustrated a cookbook for the wedding favors. I forget where she got them printed, but it was relatively inexpensive. The groom wrote an album for the bride, so that CD was the other half of the wedding favor. I really loved the favors. The cookbook in particular is so handy! And it's funny and contains blurbs about what and how they cook together. Very fun idea.
Dinner was buffet style, which is what we're planning on doing. The line did get long for a minute, but it wasn't too bad. The food was great and had different options for meats, but only one vegetarian option, and no vegan options. At our wedding, even though I don't think any of our guests will be vegan, I'm definitely going vegan for one dish. We do know more than one lactard, so I think it's important for us.
During dinner there were a couple of toasts (avec champagne), which we couldn't really hear. I think that was because we were outside...the sound just floated away. We won't have that particular issue. The same for the music after dinner--it never really got loud enough for dancing. I don't think that was their focus, though. Before the wedding I had asked the bride if there would be dancing, and she shrugged and said "Maybe!"
The bride and groom did do their own sweet first dance, and even though we couldn't hear what they were dancing to, we all cheered.
After dinner it started to get really chilly, so we were happy to go inside for cake--carrot cake! It's funny, Mr. T and I were just discussing carrot cake, b/c he loves it, but didn't think it would be a popular enough flavor, so we opted not to serve it at the engagement party. Based on how quickly that thing disappeared, I don't think he needed to worry! I think we'll probably over-order on the cupcakes to make sure everyone gets one or two...dessert is really the best part, after all.
The bride and groom were happy and also very dazed. Now that all the planning was over, they didn't know what to do with themselves. The groom told me, "I feel like there's something I should be doing, but I guess I'm done!" I thought that was interesting and that probably happens all the time at weddings. I hope that we are able to enjoy the moment without worrying about what's left to do, or what didn't go right. I in particular am a worrier. I hope I can be in the moment!
The merriment went pretty late--the ceremony started at 2 and there were still folks there at 10, when we left--but I think that was in part because folks were staying at the Bed and Breakfast. It was nice, though; folks changed into comfy clothes and settled into the bar. I hope we have a good crew who stays with us till the end! Who am I kidding, I know we will!
All in all, a very satisfying kickoff to the wedding season.
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