And We're Back!

So I was informed last weekend that there are some anxious readers out there who were actually waiting for another post. I had kind of assumed no one read this and didn't feel bad not posting after I returned from India. But I'm not one to let a captive audience down! So I'm back :)

The India trip was brutal, but productive. We did nothing but shop every day for 2 weeks in the heat and crowds, using only the subway to get around. But we got everything on our list and brought back SEVEN suitcases. No, that's not a typo. We paid for overweight and an extra bag, plus we both had heavy carry-ons.

Things have been getting steadily busier since I returned from India. I went to San Francisco and Austin over the long weekends, we had our engagement pictures, and we moved all of our stuff into a new apartment (Maneesh himself can't officially move in until after the wedding). Moving is especially painful, especially when consolidating stuff and having to sell old furniture. Luckily the new place is absolutely amazing. We have this view that I still cannot believe. It's nice to live in a nice place for once. I've always sought out places with character in NY, which basically equates to old, but this place is so luxurious and comfortable. Definitely a step up!

I've also been going to DC every spare weekend, which has been good. We're doing pretty well on being on track for the wedding. We still have a few vendors to solidify. The decorator has been more than flaky, so we don't have a contract with her yet, but my parents think we're close. We don't have a hair & makeup artist for me, but we do for the rest of the family members. We don't have mehendi artists. MJ's family hasn't picked the caterer for their welcome dinner yet. And my mom said last week that her brother convinced her we need a videographer, so we're starting to look for someone now. All the other vendors are good to go, so it's pretty much the details and coordination that's left. Of course, the devil is always in the details...

The entertainment is another big thing that's left. MJ and I are still debating on first dance songs and steps. My dad has no interest in discussing the song for our father/daughter dance, though he still seems to want to do it. Other than my brother, no one in our families seems interested in picking their entrance songs. haha Fun times! My brother is putting together a slideshow for the reception, but we don't have enough pictures. So MJ and I brought back an entire suitcase and a box full of old pictures, and I'm going to start picking some out. He's going to do the same this weekend when he goes home.

Picking engagement photos for our guest book was fun, but picking a wedding band was even more fun. I'm excited about the one we got! It's so sparkly and pretty with or without my engagement ring :)

Stay tuned for the next post, which will regale you with the ups and downs of our wedding invitations...

Two Down!

I think everyone's been a bit fried from the whirlwind weekends to DC where we meet with vendors like mad people, plan every minute we're awake, and do it all again the next day. So everyone independently suggested we take it a bit easier this weekend. So we didn't make any appointments on Sat afternoon and also decided to go see the cherry blossoms in DC on Sun morning. On Sat afternoon, my dad, my brother, MJ, and his brother went to the park. The men played tennis and I read my Kindle in the sun and talked on the phone. My mom even did some yard work at home. It was very nice and relaxing. And the weather was just gorgeous, so it really felt like spring!

In the biggest news, we signed with the photographer!!! This is only the second vendor we've actually signed with, so it's a pretty big deal. As you can tell from this blog, I've spent a considerable amount of energy on selecting a photographer and I'm very happy with our decision! They're called The Edge and they've done a ton of Indian weddings and also photographed at Rose Hill Manor. I like their style and they're reasonably priced. Their colors are sharp and the finish of the photos is very crisp. They also capture people in the room other than just the bride and groom, as well as artistic touches. So yay!! We've set our engagement photo session on 5/23 in NYC as well.

We met with the decorator we're planning to use as well. I was hoping to sign the contract, but we met her at her storage facility and she wasn't prepared with it. We've also made some changes, so she needs to update her quote. She's Hispanic, but she had SO much Indian stuff! She probably knows more about Indian weddings than I do! She had 9 units at a storage facility, a truck, and 2 vans for moving stuff around. She gets a ton of Indian wedding business and I can see why. Her stuff was very good quality and she knows what she's doing. (At one point her husband was taking out a Ganeshji statue to show us and she stopped him from putting it on the floor, because it was disrespectful!) So hopefully we can sign that contract soon as well.

The next big item on the list is the DJ. The first one we met with is still our best choice, but the rates for the projector and uplights seem to be a bit high, so we're comparing to some others as well. We'd like to get that taken care of before my mom and I leave for India, but we'll see. MJ is leading the DJ search and he's having a hard time getting responses from them.

My dad's been working with caterers, so that's in flight as well. Luckily, MJ and I don't need to have a lot of input there, so it can be done with or without us. This was my last planned trip to DC before we go to India, so we wanted to make sure everything that had to be signed early was taken care of. The other item I'll focus on when I get back is makeup/hair artists. I've been talking to a few and hopefully can meet with some when I get back.

Things are going to be busy though. We also need to register, work on our first dance, and find an apartment pretty soon after I get back. MJ and I had an interesting discussion while we were stuck in traffic yesterday that led me to think moving to Queens may not be such a bad idea. I've been dead set against it, but Long Island City has suddenly become rather appealing. It's cheaper than my neighborhood, much faster and easier to get into Manhattan, and on the water with a park and great views of the City. Quite a few of our friends also moved to Queens recently, so we'd have some friendly faces nearby. MJ made me realize that our social lives are going to be quite different after we get married. We'll be nesting much more and may be spending more time with family than friends. I guess, basically, we'll be building roots. I'm excited about setting up a home together and it'd be nice to have more space to do that in.