They're Engaged!!

After being engaged for over eight months, we finally let my sister and brother along with their collective families throw us an engagement party!! It actually ended up being a crazy celebratory weekend since both our families flew in from out of town.


Brother Peep picked out the invites from Wedding Paper Divas, they were perfect for a summer Engagement Party!!

We kicked off the weekend by hosting a dinner at our house; most of the family had yet to see our apartment (including Poppy Peep) even though we had been living together for over a year. I felt like so much was going on I didn't want to be freaked out about cooking too, so we ordered in from our favorite Puerto Rican restaurant, and had a blast.

Here I am setting up the inside table, which we ended up renting (we had a lot of family in town, and I was totally trying to impress):

Here's the outside of our 'shared' yard, where our kitchen table went:

And here's everyone gathered outside eating:

And everyone gathered around the impromptu cupcake tasting.

The entire night so fun, but the whole weekend really was a bit of a blur- we tried to have quality time with both families, which was hard because everyone wanted to do different things. I can't wait for the wedding- then everyone will have to come hang out with me!!!

My fam spent Saturday setting up, and I wasn't allowed to see anything or to help, which killed me:

Look they even got my 4 year old niece in on the set up action.

I was so nervous that folks wouldn't come to the party (it was a very busy weekend in SF - hello - the Outside lands Concert) that I was beyond shocked when I realized the entire house was full of friends and love ones from all periods in our lives. Besides both of our families, we had friends from grade school, high school, college and beyond all in the same room. Kinda surreal.
Here I am with a pic with my best friend from grade school, with my best friends from college (who flew down from Seattle, they rock) and a couple co-workers!!

Mr. Peep's cousin and Fiance (whoo hoo, can't wait for their wedding in Austin) also came up from San Diego:

And here's a pic of the entire Peep Clan. It had been well over a year since we had all been together, so it felt awesome to have some good family time with everyone:

And of course, Mama Peep (the family photographer) got all the details:


The night was fantastic. Again, I worried for nothing (seems to me a theme with me??). Up next, Brother Peep's fabulous toast.

Did you feel overwhelmed with love at your engagement party?

Throwing etiquette a curve ball...

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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.

Miss Peep Toe goes shopping for a dress

The night before I went dress shopping was horrible, I didn't sleep and I kept having dreams of the 'fat guy in a little coat' scene from Tommy Boy, except it was me trying to fit into a wedding dress. I know, I know, I was being WAY over dramatic, but we all have our own wedding neurosis and this was mine. When I finally woke up I thought, this day is going to be a disaster!!

Sister/MOH Peep Toe was so excited to go dress shopping that she planned the day. She strategically had us start at Bridal Galleria, she figure it was the place to go to try on a wide range of dresses no matter what price. I knew with my budget I couldn't really afford anything here, so it took some of the pressure off. I promptly showed the Consultant my dress montage that I had created:

Image 1: Vineyard Colleciton, 2,3,5: Stewart Parvin- you UK brides are so lucky, 5: Real Simple Weddings: Kelima K, 6: Pronovias.

I really wanted a bit of lace, a bolero or sleeves to cover up my arms, and nothing strapless. The consultant at BG made a passing glance at my montage, and jumped right into my worst fear, trying on dresses. I had made sure I wore underwear that covered my bottom, and she handed me a strapless bra and a robe.

Unfortunately, this is where my blogging comes up short- none of the places we went allowed pictures to be taken. Bummer. But I am trying to make up for it by including pics of models sporting the dresses!!

I promptly found out that boleros are usually worn over strapless dresses, so all of a sudden I was in a ball gown with a ton of lace. I think it looked something like this (just add a bolero, a sweetheart neck, and convert it to ivory):

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I have to admit it was beautiful together, and I totally had my first dress shopping moment, especially when they put the veil on me. Unfortunately, it was way out of my budget, and to be honest I left knowing this was not the one. It didn't feel like me at all, nor did it look like anything I had in my head.

Sister Peep knew that after a couple of hours of dress shopping I would need to stop and refuel, so we went to where all ladies should go for lunch in San Francisco, the Neiman Marcus Rotunda because that's how we roll (scratch that, that is how I wished I rolled).

After a much needed glass of wine and a few nibbles of lunch, we headed over to Amy Kuschel. This was my pick; while nothing in particular stood out on her website, all of her dresses were modern and simple- just my style, and not too pricey. The space is just how I pictured a bridal salon, an open loft with bright windows and wood floors.

My consultant, Amber sat down with me and discussed styles and prices. This is when I found out the VERY best part about Amy Kuschel- alterations are included in the price because they custom make each gown to fit you. For a girl with assets this was looking good.

After a quick glance at my bridal montage, we walked through each one of the dresses to decide what to try on. Like many girls out there, I thought this Amy Kuschel dress might be the one:

But it totally wasn't. And again, I found myself in a few strapless dresses, but this time I was told straps could be added. I loved Amy's dresses. They totally FIT my body, and it didn't feel anything like the Tommy Boy scene. We came away from Amy with two contenders. One totally romantic and covered with a delicate lace, but I still think it looks simple, no?:


And one modern, sleek and simple. Seriously, how great is that little train?:

The next stop was a complete disaster. It was our budget* place. It was a new shop and they had ordered the sample dresses based on street size not bridal size, so my worst fears came true- it was so close to the Tommy Boy scene, my sister and mom just laughed at the one dress I braved to show them. But the day up to that point had been so wonderful, I didn't care. We left the store in hysterics and for the next few weeks I thought about the two dresses at Amy's.

Wanting to keep no stone unturned, I ventured to try on a couple dresses the next weekend at Haute Bridal. And ironically enough, I found one romantic dress and one modern dress that I loved (are you seeing a pattern?). I still think about this Matthew Christopher dress named Moet. I heart the train and the pleating so much.

It's suppose to look like a glass of champagne!!!

But I could barely wedge myself into the sample, so it was really hard to tell what it would look like, and it was strapless- and adding straps would just look off. And the final reason this wasn't the dress- it was out of my budget and average alterations were quoted at 400-600 bucks!! And that was just average. I don't have an average body, so I could only imagine what the alterations would have been. The unknown itself took the dress from almost affordable to totally not.

Here's a pic of the romantic dress at Haute Bridal- Adele Wechsler is so fantastic- she has a whole line of dresses that includes hand sewn bead work from women in Africa. Unfortunately, once again this dress would have been a splurge and then 400-600 bucks of alterations on top of it.


I left Haute Bridal knowing my choice, I couldn't get it out of my head. So a month later I took Mama Peep and future MIL Peep back to Amy Kuschel!! I couldn't believe that the one moment I want my mom to take a picture she leaves her camera in the car. So here's the one pic I have of me in the sample dress taken on a camera phone. I think I'd be smiling more if I wasn't trying to tell Mama Peep how to take the picture:


I decided I loved the dress so much that I could handle showing off my arms- that's what the 100-push up challenge is for, right? And look, the dress actually makes my waist look smallish. I was also able to add a strap so I don't feel like my girls are going to fall out all night. It's simple and modern. Perfectly in my budget -since I didn't need to factor in alterations, and the very best part- I feel like Mr. Peep is going to go gaga over it. I can't wait for my first custom fitting in March!

*I have a hard time calling a dress over $1,000 a budget dress!!

Did you end up finding something fantastic on your first day? And then did it take you awhile to decide on a dress?

Bridal Shopping Angst

When you first get engaged, everything is so freakin' exciting!! It's like the doors opened to a whole new wonderland that I had no idea existing.

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YET there was one part about wedding planning that I totally feared: Dress Shopping.

I know that to some dress shopping is the most exciting part- so exciting that Sister Peep couldn't wait to take me to all the best places in San Francisco ASAP, but me, I was scared *#$%-less to go.

Why?? (Insert ridiculously honest blogging moment here): I was so scared that nothing would fit, and I was even more terrified of what a big white puffy dress would look like on my body. I had heard about dress shopping from Sister Peep and SIL Peep, and it didn't sound pretty to me:

They have one size sample, they come into the dressing room with you to help put it on, and 'make' it fit you.

Nothing is petite or small on my body, not even my elbows or calves, and especially not my assets!! It didn't help that I had recently gone dress shopping with a good friend who is a street size 0- and she ordered a size 8 wedding dress. Ugg. What size would I need to buy??

But, shortly after I got engaged and found the wedding blog mecca that is Weddingbee, I read a blog post from Mrs. Kiwi: Her Regret. IT hit me. I needed to embrace myself- extra assets and all- and find myself the most perfect wedding dress for me!!

It still took me another FIVE months to set a date with Sister and Mama Peep Toe to go dress shopping (and even that was under a bit of protest!!) But I did it. I tried on the good, the bad, and the ugly. And yes, all of my worst fears about dress shopping did come true at some point, but I let it roll off my back because I found 'it'- the dress I feel beautiful in!! Mrs. Kiwi- I don't know if you still read Weddingbee, but your post helped me embrace my biggest bridal angst, so I thought I would write this in case there is another Bee in the Hive who is also dreading trying on big white puffy dresses.

Up next, I wade through sequins and puffiness to find the one. Mr. Peep- you are officially band from reading weddingbee until I say otherwise!!

Anyone else out there have bridal dress shopping angst??

Even Mr. Peep loves a good sale!!

So you already know about my shopohlic ways, and how much I love a good deal. But let me tell you ladies, Mr. Peep also loves a good sale.

When I said awhile back that he has champagne taste on a Bud Light budget, I am not kidding.

A few months ago, Mr. Peep and I made a second trip to Bloomingdales to finish off our registry (we just didn't have the stamina to finish it in one day, and really, it gave us (aka me) another reason to go to Bloomies). After we finished up downstairs, I politely mentioned that we go up to the Men's department and just check out the suits. Since we were registered at Bloomies, we'd receive 15% off Mr. Peep's attire, so Mr. PT reluctantly obliged to go see what they had.

Then we found out that it was the last day of a suit sale. This was the straw that broke the camels back, finally Mr. Peep agreed to actually try on one suit.

And when I say one suit, I mean it. He tried on one suit and fell in love with it. It's chocolate brown, Burberry Suit (he's such a label whore), and at the end of the day- it was 40% off!

I couldn't believe that after all the dresses I tried on, Mr. PT got away with only trying on one suit!!

The madness that is Mr. Peep's obsession with a good deal didn't stop there. My BIL also loves high end men's wear and always goes shopping the day after Christmas. He actually convinced Mr. Peep to go shopping on Black Friday in Downtown SF for ties.

That is how I found myself on December 26th waiting for Pink to open with a dozen other gay men of San Francisco. But let me tell you, the sale didn't disappoint. A good selection of their ties and shirts where 50%, and Mr. PT was able to find a tie and shirt that looked great and held true to the stores name. I give you Mr. Peeps attire:

I think it looks pretty smashing if I do say so myself.

After Pink, I was able to deflate Mr. Peep's head a bit and I got him to duck into the Macy's Men's store. We still had ties to buy for our dad's, his two groomsmen, and the ushers. Since I still wanted Pink to only be an accent color, and I wanted Mr. Peep to stand out, we were looking for green ties. But not just any green- a green that pops!! And low and behold, at 50% off plus another 15% off for Black Friday, we found 7 green ties that all- kinda go together:

The one on the far left is for my Dad- he's such a traditionalist when it comes to ties- I still can't imagine him ever wearing this tie again.

Here they are with Mr. Peep's tie:


I think it looks pretty good together.

Now the hard part. Finding suits for the two groomsmen. I am leaning towards having the two guys buy khaki suits, like this picture here (but minus 10 guys):

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They aren't 'suit guys.' So I feel bad making them buy a suit.

Does anyone know somewhere near SF that you can rent suits??

If they do buy suits, any suggestions on where? And should I have them buy Khaki (which I think will be easier to find) or try to find a brown suit? I should say that the bridesmaids are wearing brown, so I am a bit afraid that there is going to be too much brown.

And how much did your groomsmen spend on their outfit? I know that a tux rental can easily be $150.

Help Hive!! Our men need suits!!

Best Part of Wedding Planning to Date...

Has to be planning the Honeymoon!!!!

I have been racking up miles for years and years on Alaska Airlines for an amazing trip. I have waited so long that I could get Mr. Peep and I practically any where in the world- except for Africa or Australia.

Now using miles isn't always the easiest route- it takes persistence. And Mr. Peep and I were all over the map.

First Mr. Peep and I thought it would be absolutely amazing to go to Chile and Argentina and go skiing, yet finding a reservation that worked was hard and we were told that there may not be snow in June. How much would it suck to fly half way across the globe for snow and find out that it wasn't there yet!!

Right about that time, SIL and BIL Peep came back from their honeymoon in Bali and raved and raved and raved about it. I called at least a dozen times to see if I could get tickets to Bali, or anywhere in Southeast Asia for that matter, but all the flights pivoted around Hong Kong, and each time we got stranded in Hong Kong with no way back.

Finally, we really sat down and talked about what we wanted. We wanted something semi-active (Mr. Peep can't sit on the beach for the life of him), some place that was eco-friendly, and after looking at all the pictures of Southeast Asia- Mr. Peep had fallen in love with the idea of an over water bungalow and I wanted some place warm.

I knew the perfect place- Costa Rica. BUT I went to Costa Rica a few years ago, and I really wanted a new adventure.

And then we saw the perfect picture:

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The Eclypse de Mar in Panama!! Not only do they have over water bungalows: HELLO Beautiful Beaches:


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And the Eclypse de Mar is an eco-friendly hotel!! Check, check and check.

It had all of our prerequisites. Plus, Mr. Peep can not wait to see one of these:

A poison Dart Frog.

After we have swam, kayaked, snorkeled, and relaxed our little hearts out on the beach and the surrounding Marine Reserve, we are going to spend a few days on a Coffee Farm near the Continental Divide. We plan to hike a bit, drink a ton of coffee, do a zip-line, and relax at a spa!!

Here's a pic of a waterfall near where we will be staying:

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And then we are going to spend a few days exploring Panama City and the Panama Canal. Did I mention that Mr. Peep and I spent hours at the Seattle Locks back in June, and loved watching all the boats!! We really are geeks. We made sure that we will be in Panama City on a Saturday so we can take a boat tour of the locks.

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This past weekend Mr. Peep and I spent hours pouring over Trip Advisor and the travel guide book he got me for Chrismakkah: Moon: Panama, and today we booked most of the hotels for our trip--I am beyond excited. We still need to figure out where we want to stay in Panama City. Any suggestions?

Oh and did I tell you the best part? We are flying first class both ways!! All on my miles!! That saved, oh, at least $3,000! I told you this is the best part of wedding planning thus far!!

What were your requirements for a honeymoon destination?? Where are you going?

Jumping on the bandwagon...

The ring shot bandwagon that is. It was raining this morning, so everything was a bit wet, but I think it adds an extra texture. I took all of these just outside my back door, and I saturated most of the pictures to make the sapphire pop. What do you think?










I also thought I would introduce you to my bridal jewelry.

I got these from Mr. Peep's Dad as an engagement gift!!! Aren't they ridiculously beautiful!! They are citrons, and I can't tell you how much I LOVE them!!


And here's another something old, my Grandmother's brooch.


Here they all are together! I think they look fantastic. I am hoping to add a bracelet to the group to finish off the look.

Are you mixing old and new jewelry for your wedding day??