I’m not sure where the time has gone, but seven months have passed since our engagement.  At the time, my mom was concerned that we may want a longer engagement. With a month until I Do’s, I can say with full confidence, we are ready!

Yes, there are still the details of the welcome bags, take home gifts, endless timelines, tastings and other things to complete, but for the most part, I would say I’m ready to be married!  The day after the wedding is looking pretty enticing right now.

The invitations and ketubah were the most exciting part of the process (other than the dress!)  I found an artist that I absolute love, Rachel Deitsch, who kindly helped my dreams become a reality.  She worked with me and my groom to ensure that the invite (which was the first that she had designed) was absolutely perfect.  It combines vibrant colors, Jewish texts, and an overall sense of who we are.  The inside also has the pomegranate theme, which is absolutely stunning. Rachel also converted one of her prints into a ketubah, which it has a similar feel.  Her work is incredible!

So with the invitations out, I’d say there’s no turning back!  The wedding tasting happened a few weeks ago when we went out to Boca. We decided to forgo the traditional wedding menu for something that is more of a representation of who we are and how we feel in love.   We’re doing stations during the reception with sliders, brisket sandwiches,  multiple varieties of french fries, tacos, dim sum, etc, etc etc.  It will be quite a kosher feast!  We wanted the focus to be on fun foods that will energize people to dance!

The dessert options are very similar. There will be a small cake for cutting, but the main desserts include donuts, little ice cream cones, popcorn, cookie sandwiches, etc etc etc!  I think we put more thought into the menu than anything else!

We’ll be back in Florida in a few weeks for the rehearsal dinner tasting, which I’m so excited for!  I just ordered personalized chocolate for the welcome bags, which I think are a cute touch (although probably one of my most unnecessary purchases.)  The Wedding Channel Store is having a huge sale right now, so I recommend picking these chocolates up soon if you like them.  They were on $50, now down to $20, with an extra discount on top of that!

Next up: How sample sales saved my wedding budget!

My fiancé Matt and I met during the summer of 2005.  While working out at the gym one evening, in walked a tall and handsome red head.  (I’ve always had a thing for red heads.) When he walked over to talk to my friend who was a mutual friend of ours, I was secretly excited and yet fully embarrassed. See, I had just finished a spinning class and I’m a sweater –a hardcore sweater.  Trust me, it wasn’t pretty.  We met, he left the gym shortly thereafter, and I forgot about it.

One night I was having frozen yogurt with my friend, and he texted her from his family trip to Israel.  It was of a picture of a Doritos bag in Hebrew. I think I fell in lust right then– a man who appreciates all that is Israel!  At the time, I had just graduated from college and was interning at home before moving to Israel for a year.

Once Matt returned from his trip, my friend and I had a chance to hang out with him again, and once my friend went back to college, Matt and I had an opportunity to hang out alone. I had only three nights until I flew to Israel for the year,  but they were most definitely three of the most romantically exciting nights of my life.  We talked for hours on the beach every night.  We learned that we grew up going to the same synagogue, our parents have known each other for years, and our homes were within a mile of each other. But most importantly, our first kiss was the most electrically charged kiss  ever.  It probably helped that it was in the ocean under a full moon.   Matt and I had so much in common, it was just too good to be true.   I left for Israel the next morning, and Matt went back to Carnegie Mellon.  After three months and a couple of $500 phone bills, we decided a long distance relationship wasn’t ideal for either of us. [Read more →]