Throwing etiquette a curve ball...

source.

As soon as Mr. Peep and I were engaged, Sister Peep (the original and best party thrower) insisted on throwing us an engagement party. (Seriously, before they even bought their new house she called and said that it has a great deck for a party-- an engagement party, hint hint. No joke). I personally, was a bit hesitant, I hadn't had a party thrown for myself since forever, except that one time when I was 22- we bought a keg and BBQ'd and decided to call it my birthday party- but I don't really think that counts.

Once we decided on a guest list of 60 for the wedding, I thought that the idea of throwing us an engagement party would be thrown out the window. Whoo hoo! Practically everyone on our guest list is from out of town- so having them come up for a pre-wedding weekend to celebrate us seemed excessive. And proper etiquette is to only invite people to your engagement party and showers if they are invited to the wedding. Or so I thought.

Sister Peep was so insistent on throwing us a party for all of our San Francisco friends that I decided to email a Wedding Etiquette guru to find out if it was appropriate to invite folks to our engagement party that wouldn't be invited to our wedding.

A bit to my dismay, she thought it was perfect solution to celebrate with more friends and family. The more the merrier.

And while I think the jury may still be out on this question, we gave Sister Peep and Brother Peep (he didn't want to get left out of the party planning) the go ahead to plan an engagement party.

But that was just the beginning of the party planning. It seemed like everyone wanted to throw us a party. Future MIL Peep wanted to be able to celebrate with her girlfriends in Texas; Cousin Peep wanted to throw us a shower in LA; and Parents Peep wanted to throw us a post-wedding shindig in my hometown (a la Mrs. Avacado) after the wedding.

And of course, Sister Peep and her hubby can't wait to throw us respective bachelorette and bachelor parties.

Here's the catch, the majority of the guest list at these parties- not invited to our wedding!! Yep, we are that couple. Back in October I had a shower hosted by Future MIL and SIL PT in Houston for a bunch of women I barely knew, and are totally not on the invite list.

Do I feel guilty or wrong? I did for awhile, and then Mr. Peep's Aunt said, "Everyone just loves the two of you and we just want to celebrate it. And it's always more fun to get together on a joyous occasion!" And she was right, the shower and the engagement party were both fantastic and most people knew they wouldn't be invited to the wedding, and they seemed ok with that.

So that's how our 60 person wedding has turned into a traveling party. I have just learned to sit back and accept the fact that everyone loves a good party and my only role is to just soak in the love.

Have you thrown etiquette a curve ball in your planning process? Or had a party thrown for you under a bit of protest?

PS I know etiquette can be a touchy subject so please keep your comments positive! Thanks.

Tis the season to become engaged...*

Since getting engaged over a year ago, I started thinking about the next round of brides out there who are waiting for a proposal as we speak.

With the holidays approaching, there has to be a few grooms-to-be holding onto a ring waiting for the right moment. And then I found this article. It's a few years old, but it states that 26% of couples get engaged between November to December. And according to this wiki, another 10% get engaged on Valentine's Day.

Source.

And then I started thinking about the economy, and I started to wonder if the number of proposals will shrink due to the fiscal crisis. A couple of months ago I asked a vendor if the economy has started to affect them. She said no, the weddings have actually gotten bigger! I gasped. I can't imagine that the wedding industry hasn't been hit by the economy!? I know that Mr. Spice and I were officially hit last week.

So, I wanted to write this post to welcome the newly engaged couples to the hive! And I wanted to know: are there couples out there who are waiting for the economy to improve to officially become engaged?? Or have your bridal budgets been hit since becoming engaged?

*Yes, I stole the title of my post from this article.

One year ago today...

Mr. Spice proposed.

I can still remember how my heart fluttered with excitement the entire day!!This print is how I feel about Mr. Spice.

I don't plan on doing anything wedding related today, except love Mr. Spice more....

"For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow."
Rosemonde Gerard.

Do you remember how you felt the day you got engaged? And do you have a favorite love quote that exemplifies how you feel about your Fiance??

A Day Near the Bay, Part 2

After a quick change in the car, Mandi took us to a spot right off the road for these next pictures. I love the colors and the background of this next set. This first one is a perfect one for the parents:



And how fun is this one:


And finally, Mandi took us down to Baker Beach. This time our little mutt, Huckleberry got to get in on the action. I love that we got pictures of us doing something so typical: taking the dog to the beach to run around. I might need to frame this first one for my desk:





Here's Huckleberry with a very typical expression. I call this one, 'what do you mean I can't run around any more??'

And last, my VERY favorite picture of the day. Huck loves to run between us at the beach, so this SO represents our family. Plus, check out that huge wave! I plan to blow this one up and frame it!!

Again, Mandi, I can not wait for you to capture our big day. I get more excited every time I look at our e-pics (which has been a lot).

All pictures by Mandi at Blueberry Photography.

Did you go to a spot or do something typical for your engagement pictures? Or did you do something out of the ordinary?

A peek into our engagement pictures...

We finally got the CD of our engagement pictures today, and while I am still sorting threw them, I thought I'd give you a sneak peek...

I couldn't be happier. I love our photographer: Mandi from Blueberry Photography!!
I can't wait for her to shoot our big day!

Adding some organic spice to the wedding industry.

This is my adventure in planning a modern organic wedding without the sequins and puffiness. All on a budget; in one of the most expensive cities in the US.

I have already been planning my wedding for eleven months (my God that has flown by) so I have a lot to share. I guess I'll dig right in and give the engagement story:


Here we are at brunch the morning he proposed.

I wish I could say I had no idea it was coming, but alas, Mr. Spice couldn't quite hold in the excitement. So on a Sunday morning in December, while still in bed, Mr. Spice proposed. As soon as I realized what was going on I made him get down on one knee. The dog was so confused he immediately attacked Mr. Spice, and by attack, I mean slobbered kisses all over his face. Once the dog approved, well, I don't remember much after that other than crying and shouting out YES!!

The rest of the morning was spent in an excited haze. I can't say I surprised anyone when I called with the news- Mr. Spice had clued everyone in on the plan by asking my ENTIRE family if they approved! Honestly, that surprised me the most! He had the whole day (and next day) planned with the help of Sister Sugar. He had even called my boss and asked for the day off on Monday. Later she told me that she felt like he was asking her permission for us to get married- so of course she gave me the day!!

Since that fateful day last December I have been falling down the wedding planning rabbit hole and hoping to hold on to what really matters- us!!

Hope you enjoy the adventure with me, I have already done a lot of planning, but I have a lot to go. Coming soon, the non-wedding wedding, the guest list cut in half, a 17-month-long engagement (say what, I am not getting any younger??), five months of looking for a venue cut down to three posts, and a New York Times Interview!!

So join me on the ride to make our wedding our own by adding bit of sugar and spice.

I'll leave you with the picture that you really want to see: the RING. A cushion cut, yellow sapphire. Mr. Spice did good!!!
(Please don't focus on my finger hair- I took this pic on the day of our engagement before I even knew what a wedding blog was!)


So tell me, did you know what a wedding blog was before you were engaged?? Did you know about your engagement and was it a low key affair?