'Tis the Season...

Neither A nor I could sleep last night. I wish I could say it was because we were both so excited to open gifts, but mostly it was due to indigestion. I wonder--was it the taco dip? Perhaps the meatballs or cheese and sausage or lasagna. Or maybe it was the ice cream, grasshoppers, wine and brandy slush. Ugh, thank goodness A and I got in a good workout yesterday.

I'm no stranger to overdoing it when it comes celebrating through food and I can always find something to celebrate. Our wedding will be no exception. Friends and family we come across this holiday season have been asking us a lot about plans and the meal inevitably comes up. There's no question, between the cocktail hour, dinner, dessert and late-night snacks, everyone will have an opportunity to stuff their faces at our wedding.

I've been reading a lot about ways to save on the big day and multiple sources have commented that you can cut costs through two main methods: 1) Do a dessert-only reception or 2) Cut the cocktail hour in half or out completely. This is a great idea, don't get me wrong. However, it would not work for A and I. We love food... Love it. When we talk about what we want people to remember on our wedding day (aside from how in love we are) food is number one on the list, followed by the music. We feel really lucky that we have wonderful friends who will be doing the catering for us, so that's cutting tremendously on our costs and allowing us to spend more on quality food for our guests. We hope they can appreciate it as much as we do.

Whatever your reason to celebrate--eat, drink and be merry this holiday season. And stock up on Antacid pills...

New Addiction: Checking Our Wedding Website Guestbook

Today I had an e-mail saying someone signed our guestbook! Woo hoo!

I haven't paid much attention to our wedding website recently because we haven't had new information to post. But knowing someone might be looking at it and actually left us a message! That's motivation. Thank you Alex. Only 162 days! Amazing. I'm so excited to celebrate such a special day with the wonderful people who have been with Aaron and I through everything.

There are so many things left to do, but I still have that day-1 giddy feeling and look forward to every moment of planning. Let's raise our egg nog and cheers to 162 more days of meticulously calculating playlists, laying out photos and taste-testing culinary creations dreamt up by my H2B :)

Holiday gifts don't have to be the pits...

Just a quick note.

In the spirit of saving money for the wedding, A and I are trying not to fall too victim to the commercialism of the holiday season this year. We're still decorating feverishly, but we agreed not to go overboard with gifts. I'll admit, I went a little crazy on Black Friday, but seriously?!?! I got a $225 peacoat for like $70... that's just smart shopping.

Moving along. I received an e-mail that led me to a fun new site I'll be perusing that outlines great online sales. In fact, if anyone out there was thinking of getting Aaron and I an electric griddle for our wedding gift, I found a great deal on this site... save 50% and free shipping/handling. Just saying.

Anyway, I'm a huge fan of DIY gifts... framed photos, jewelry and food. But if you don't have the time or patience to do it all yourself, I recommend looking at MyBargainBuddy.com for some great savings.