The one where everyone tries to find bridesmaids dresses - Episode One

It was a busy (but super fun) weekend - and I even did some wedding stuff :) Javs, Kels, Isabel and I braved a Bridal Expo at the Patriot Center on George Mason's campus on Sunday morning. I'll give you guys details on that in a bit - but afterwards (feeling inspired) we headed to Tysons to do some bridesmaid dress shopping!

I'm realizing at this point that I have not shared with you my "plan" for my maids' attire. (I put plan in little quotes there because I'm learning that its really a lack-of-plan that I have for the maids more than a plan...yikes!) When I asked the girls to be my maids I mentioned my only real idea for their dresses and that's what we've been going on ever since. Javs and I hadn't really talked colors (and still haven't) but a quick conversation with him early on suggested that we'd be going for warmer colors - specifically browns - wherever we wanted neutrals. (this is a palette I found on Pinterest that I have been keeping in mind, but only shared with javs this weekend so who knows if its really what we'll do...)

So I told the girls I wanted to give them a range to work with from the neutral spectrum- but each should buy their own dress in the design and style they felt most comfortable. Easy enough, right? Right? Well...we're still finding out.

So we set out - walking briskly through stores, scanning for anything in the cream/beige to camel/khaki to chocolate/brown family. We were in and out of a lot stores - quickly realizing that grey seems to be more 'in' this season, but not dissuaded.

After some strike outs we decided to head straight to Banana Republic where I had scoped out a tan dress I wanted the ladies to try on earlier in the week. Its hard to see in my IPhone pic but, it was a winner in some cases: loved the color, had the length we needed for these tall girls and didn't have the bridesmaid dress look. However, it was one of those dresses that looked better on the hanger than on a body - it was a 'no.'

We pressed on and decided to try on two dresses in Express that we didn't love, but fit the color bill. (I'll be honest, we - ok I- was starting to feel a bit desperate. Where were all the beige/camel/chocolate dresses?) Everyone else was concerned that the white polka-dots in Isabel's dress might be too close to white my dress (I did not think so and I think the pic proves that the dress overall looks much more tan than white) but everyone decided it was a 'no' as soon as she walked out so it didn't really matter. Kels' dress inspired a lot of doubt going in - but it really looked much better on her than on the hanger. I actually...kind of liked it. (YAY! some progress) We all agreed it was a 'fine,' if not 'maybe,' and moved on to Nordstroms where we were hoping to find some volume!

Nordstorms came through with a variety of cream/khaki/brown options for us to at least try on! I didn't take pics of them all, but you'll get an idea from these. This is one (pictured left) that Javs picked out (bless his heart). Actually - we didn't love it on the hanger, but thought it was definitely better on a body (isn't it funny how some dresses are like that?). This is another one (pictured right) that Javs grabbed for us. Kels liked it the most, but we all agreed that a more interesting/lower neckline would have drastically improved it. Both were a 'no. **Side Note** Our shopping trip proved to me (once again) that Javier is destined for sainthood. He was a trooper - offering opinions, making suggestions and holding dresses we wanted to try on as we walked around.

We did find one dress that we liked though! Isabel loved it actually :) It fit lots of requirements: brown, soft and feminine (but not too poofy of a skirt like a similar dress had that Isabel tried on and denied). It was long enough too! The one pictured is actually a size to big for her (we found one in the right size that was bright blue...you may see her holding it in the pic above.) so we ended up ordering it from Nordstrom in the right size and color! Its scheduled to be delivered to the Cabezas casa sometime soon so that she can try it on for Mrs Cabezas and decide. Nordstroms is wonderful (of course) and said it would be no trouble taking it back if they decide this isn't the one. Our biggest concern: the neckline. Its a sweetheart, but one of those deep sweethearts and we can't decide if its too deep. More discussion will commence when it arrives and I'll keep you folks posted! Either way - I'm counting the trip a victory because we proved that there are dresses out there (and even some that we don't hate!)

Scent of a Woman

If you haven't seen it - watch it! (Al Pacino is great and Chris O'donnell is cute and was still making movies....)

But this post isn't about the movie...its about me and my scent. And another trend that I'm keeping in mind for the wedding. Those of you that stalk wedding blogs might have noticed that some photographers are making a point to snag a pic of the perfume their bride is wearing for her big day. That's because brides today are picking a new perfume, special for the wedding day (and maybe honeymoon), to help associate a memory with the scent. That way when they wear it later on - it will make both them and the hubby think about their wedding :) - maybe brides have been doing this forever, but the Internet and blogs have advertised it so that brides like me who would have never thought about it - see it and steal the idea!

Now, I don't wear perfume at all - so following this trend would mean picking out any perfume that I like to wear for the day of. So when I didn't have an errand to run on my lunch (typically what I do during my lunch) the other day I decided to head over to the mall to smell some scents!

Alexa kindly offered to go with me and off to Sephora we went. I knew that I wanted something smelling more fresh than sweet. So when Tiffany (heavily makeuped Sephora employee) asked what we were looking for - I told her. She suggested their fancy shmancy 'Finding the Perfect Perfume for You' machine! (Okay that's not really what its called, but that's what its supposed to do!) Tiffany showed us how it works: you answer a series of 10 questions - selecting your favorite of the choices they provide and at the end it tells you what kind of scent might match your personality. Here is Alexa selecting her favorite flower.

The machine must have been on a roll that day b/c it confirmed for me that a fresh scent would fit my t-shirt and jeans, champagne drinking and daisy loving self. Then below the machine - Sephora provided a sample of perfumes for each category. (I know the picture isn't perfect but starting on the left there is Citrus, Fresh, Floral, Oriental, & Woody labels) You could also scroll through the Fresh options on the screen that they had available throughout the store. Tiffany also pointed out a line of perfumes called 'Clean' that I might like if I was looking for something on the fresh side. So Alexa and I dug in and started spraying little strips of paper with each of the perfumes.

I should preface my next comments, by saying that every nose is different and everyone's preferred smell is probably waaaay different. In addition, Alexa intelligently pointed out that scents often change when you actually put them on your body (because of pheromones and stuff) so in other words - if you like one of the perfumes that I didn't like, we can still be friends!

I did not like the Clean perfumes. They were oddly....unclean? They were a pretty intense smell certainly associated to their name (apparently I think clean/fresh means light) but slightly overdone. 'Warm Cotton' - for example - smelled like a Bounce sheet prior to being dried. You know, it has that really intense clean laundry smell that works so much better once its been heated up and dispersed equally through your load of laundry. Yeah, it was the too intense version of a Bounce. And the 'Summer Escape' (which I accidentally sprayed all over my hand and therefore smelled like for the rest of the day) - smelled like that mango filled, tropic you'd associate with a summer escape, but more of the Runts version of it. (You know, how Runts have that true banana smell, but one that is way over exaggerated and sweetened up just a hair too much) - that was Summer Escape.

What I did like was one of the first perfumes I smelled. (And that might have something to do with it...I'm sure my sense of smell was affected by the overdose of scents I provided it in a short 10 minute span) = Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. It was exactly what I think 'fresh' should smell like. Alexa agreed that Light Blue was the right name for a perfume that smelled like this. So Tiffany kindly hooked me up with a sample of Light Blue so that I could try it out (and see how it mixes with my own pheromones). Today I smell like Light Blue and think that I still really like it. I'm a little worried its not subtly enough - but we'll see how it wears throughout the day.

Happy smelling friends! (as in - enjoy smelling, not that you guys smell or anything...you know cause I said 'smelling friends'....you get it...)

Band of Brothers

I know you all are entertained (as am I) by Audrey's posts, but it's time to enter the ring again with a groom's post! I've been along for the decision-making up to this point, as Audrey has mentioned, and now I'll tell you about my biggest decision to date: picking my groomsmen.

As eloquent as I may or may not be, I somehow managed to ask both of my groomsmen in a slightly more impressive way than "Dude, will you be my groomsman?" Slightly.

The Best Man
Family is very important to both me and Audrey, and I've asked my brother Felipe to be my best man. Our biggest similarity is likely our sense of humor, and that can be summed up with this segment from Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys (quick side note - you should read this entire book if you want to understand guys better ... or particularly if you want to know if the guy in your life is a guy or a man (you'll know by the end of chapter one)). I know that he is often seen as gruff and sometimes stubborn (let's be honest, so am I), but inside he has a soft heart, particularly for his little siblings. He's obviously the first kid I ever met, has known me longer than anyone except my parents, and continues to be someone that I can turn to in difficult times. I know that he'll be looking out for the best for both me and Audrey, and I'm thrilled that he has agreed to be best man!

The Groomsman
You've read that correctly. Groomsman singular. Whereas Audrey has 2 bridesmaids and a Matron of Honor, I'll have just me and my two guys. And the other guy that I'll have up by the altar with me is none other than Mr. Scott Bottoms! I was not quite so eloquent asking Scott to be my groomsman (in fact, I think I did say something like "hey, so, uh, I've got a question for you"). As many of you well know, I like Scott. He's fun to hang out with, and good for any conversation, whether intellectual or inane. And to have Audrey's brother-in-law, and my future brother-in-law (Scott and I are pretty sure that's what we'd be) standing up there with me and my own brother - well, I think that's pretty awesome.

So there you have it. Our little band of three brothers: Javier, Felipe, and Scott.

No updates on any ushers or the like yet, but look for that in the coming days (and a few more groom posts!).

something next to normal

Wedding trends: they’re everywhere. And they’re powerful. I find myself totally succumbing to some of the current wedding trends without explanation. Like, why am I so much more attracted to this instead of that? But I am. I don’t want that, I want this (I really do)!

this = mason jar : that = a regular vase

A trend right now in engagement shots seems to be signage. Evidence:

Now, Javs is not the keenest on the contrived photo. It was actually what we looked at most when selecting our photographer – we wanted someone who worked hard to catch the natural moments of the day. Now engagement photos lend themselves to a certain amount of illusion. (How often do you just sit around and smile at each other for that long anyways…) but I did think there were some elements that we could work on to help make our pictures more ‘natural’ (or as natural as they could be).

I think one thing to help was asking our photographers to come to our home to take some pictures. Outside of Cvent walls, its where I spend the majority of my time and certainly where we spend the majority of our time together. Maybe our at home (literally) setting will help put us at ease!

Now, I’ll admit that I may have fallen a bit for the engagement photo signage trend. I do think its kind of fun to put that little thought bubble or caption to a photo that helps deliver its message. You know, like those rare episodes were the coyote would hold up a sign (because he never spoke) to let you know what was on his mind. I loved those episodes - I momentary glimpse into the soul of an otherwise silent coyote. (okay – slightly dramatic, but you get it). But when I talked to Javs about ‘props’ for our session he was more than skeptical. (Maybe it was my use of the word ‘props’ that contradicted so clearly with his ‘non-contrived’ hopes.) But I kept thinking that if I could find something that was really us and really gave a glimpse into whatever it is we’re trying to say with our engagement pictures that he might be on board because it wouldn’t be contrived.

Enter Next to Normal.

Next to Normal is a musical that Javs and I went to see on one of our early dates. It was just getting started then and hadn’t made it to Broadway yet. We did get to see the ‘original’ cast because they were the only cast…it had just started traveling. I learned later that Javs was all nervous because it was a new show and he wanted it to be good (cause he was still trying to impress me) yatta, yatta. Well, it was better than good. We both came out at intermission bubbling over with excitement about how much we were loving it; the songs, the actors, the whole show = awesome. (Apparently critics agree b/c it went on to win three tonys).

The love song in the show (its played and reprised several times) is called ‘Perfect for you’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGGeJTH7zN4 – Listen to it.

In one of the reprises there is a line (one of my favorites),

‘Cause crazy is perfect and f***ed up is perfect so I will be perfect, perfect for you’

I love it. It kind of says it all…and I’ve already expressed wanting this written somewhere at our wedding!…but agreed with Javs that having ‘f***ed up’ written (even if it is in a pretty frame) at your wedding is probably not the best idea. Instead, I suggested using some other lyrics to make a ‘sign’ for our engagement session – javs was in!

I think the song can have a myriad of meanings (probably different for different people). I won’t go into all the meanings it has for me, but its certainly something that makes me think of Javs and what we have been (and will be) for each other. And its something we often walk around our house singing to each other, “perfect for you…I could be perfect for youuuuu.’

***DIY Alert** (my first!)I used frames that I already had - just took the pictures and glass out. Then printed off the 'perfect for you' and 'i could be' in Bradly Hand ITC font (just good ole word font). I bought some awesome notecards from papyrus (because you can never have enough notecards from papyrus) and cause we haven't completely decided on our colors - so I didn't want to get a ton of orange paper (that we wouldn't end up using) where as with notecards - I knew I could use them no matter what (thank yous!). Then I traced (several times) the letters I had printed out until they were some what etched into the card. I went back over the etching with the pen to really darken it out, but I think they didn't turn out half bad. (Javs wanted me to just free hand them onto the cards...has he seen my handwriting? - NO)

And so were born – our signs :) So we’re taking the trend, but making it us. We’ll give em a try tomorrow and see. If you never spot them in the pictures I (hopefully) use from our session tomorrow....well then you know they were a bust. Here's hoping we're trendy enough to pull off the trend :)

Oh - and the chafing gel did not turn my face blue (sorry - those pictures would have been hilarious)

Setting the Foundation

We booked a caterer!!!! Sorry - that has nothing to do with my title or the majority of this post, but I thought I would share that another big item has been checked off the list! You'll be fed at our wedding :) In the end we did go with Harvest Moon! Their experience and flexibility really tipped the scale in their favor.
I've been talking to some brides lately and its a little funny - you start planning with lots of grand and unique ideas. And some of them certainly work out, but you reach a point in the search for some vendors or with some projects where you're happy to take the option that will provide the least amount of stress- regardless of how it fit with your original vision or plan. I'm most excited that I feel so confident that Harvest Moon will deliver a yummy meal to my guests while causing little to no stress for me! = win!

Okay the post - Javier and I are having our engagement pictures taken this Saturday. YAY! We are really excited to have Andrea and Brian up to our apartment in Logan Circle for some lunch and catching up. Then we'll take some (hopefully not too awkward) pictures in the first apartment we shared together and our fun surrounding neighborhood. I'll tell you all about it once they actually happen, but this week has been filled with little 'to dos' to get ready for Saturday. Javier dropped off some clothes at the dry cleaners that we think we want to wear, we hung a new mirror in our dining area, I got some cute boxes to put on the shelves to hide our DVD collection, etc. etc.

(This is really a story I'm somewhat telling on myself because it was totally my fault and once again proves that Javier is one of the most tolerant men in the world...)

I don't wear a ton of makeup. I've actually been wearing less and less 1) the longer I work at Cvent and 2) the longer I've dated Javs (he's not big on the make-up-y look). But I know that for photos, it will be important that I'm wearing enough/the right make up so I show up and look purdy.

So, I've been doing some research on my wedding blogs for photo-ready make up tips. Most of the brides suggest having your make up trial done on the day of your engagement pictures so that you can have it professionally done. Well a) our pictures are being taken in DC and the wedding is in cville so whoever is doing my make up day of is probably in cville this Saturday too and therefore can't do a trial and 2) who would be pulled together enough to know who they'd want to do their make up at this point in planning. - so not an option for me.

Which means I'm doing it myself! And luck for me - WeddingBee has started a 'Helpful Series' where they re-post blogs that other brides found to be particularly helpful....including this one on doing your own make up!

Wedding Bee's Helpful Series http://www.weddingbee.com/2011/12/29/helpful-series-ace-your-face-pt-1/

So I have been following Mrs. Rainbow's suggestions to a T, purchasing all the needed supplies for my at home foundation work. Well my lunchtime shopping trips were filling up fast so Javs offered to pick up two items for me! 1) some new face wash from whole foods and 2) my monistat chafing gel from CVS.

If you didn't pause to read Mrs. Rainbow's foundation tutorial you might be confused. Chafing gel? Awkward....and an over share. But correct - I asked Javs to get me this chafing gel as part of my make-up plan for the day. I started reading up on it and apparently lots of women are turning to Monistat's chafing gel for use as a make up primer over more expensive options (it has the same ingredients!)

More info on Monistat Chafing Gel as Makeup primer (cause you know you're curious) http://review-monistat-face-primer.uncensoredguides.com/

After Jav's offer to grab some items on his lunch I hastily texted the name of each product and felt relieved marking two more items off the 'to do' list. Well, I really should have warned him that I was asking him to buy a somewhat awkward product from CVS, but in my haste didn't mention it. - first oops! On top of that, my phone auto-corrected (dreaded auto-correct!) Monistat to something completely unrecognizable. -second ooops!

So there is poor Javs - showing the CVS salesman the product he is diligently looking for that his bride to be specifically texted him. The CVS guy doesn't recognize it (of course - it doesn't exist) so Javs calls me at work for clarification. So I'm here, at my little exposed cubicle answering my cell phone.

'Hey Fiance!' Me.
'Hey babe, what was it you wanted me to get at CVS? I can't read your text,' Javs.
'Uhhh...' Me. How do you say Monistat Chafing Gel quietly at your desk?

So I get up and walk out to the hall to name the product. And noooooooow the awkwardness hits me. Ooops!

'Its Monistat Chafing Gel. Yeah like Monistat. Mmmhmmm-exactly! Guess I should have warned you! Oooops....' Me.

Well of course, neither Javs nor the CVS man could find the product (of course!). They're looking among the, ehem, other Monistat products. I suggest to look in lotions. Its no where. So Javs leaves - defeated. But only momentarily because the kind CVS man continued the search and found my much needed chafing gel! He was even kind enough to run out of CVS and catch Javs walking down the street to let him know he found what Javier had been searching for :)

(Can everyone just take a minute to picture Javs walking down P St being chased by a man waving Monistat Chafing Gel high above his head in victory - hahahha)

So Javs went back into CVS to pay for my Monistat. Victory! Needless to say - I owe my fiance a big one! But now I have my supplies and am ready to try tackling my foundation. I'm going to do a trial run tonight to make sure I'm happy with it. I'll upload pictures if the chafing gel turns my face blue :)

To Charlottesville for the Harvest....

Moon that is and our second caterer tasting :) Javs, Mrs Cabezas, Kels and I traveled to good ole Grady Ave Saturday morning to meet with Barbara from Harvest Moon for our tasting. We were greeted by a beautifully set table and cheese platter (which I totally forgot to take a picture of...whomp whomp) but I did snag a picture of the made-in house artichoke spread :) yum! Barbara suggested we snack on the delicious cheese while Joel prepared our apps - so dig in we did! And in addition to the amazing cheeses, tried the artichoke spread and homemade tomato jam.

I was busy diving into the 234927987 + questions I had ready for Barbara while Javs was diving into the brie wrapped goat cheese. My last meeting with a caterer taught me that Ash Lawn, while gorgeous, is a bit of a pill for catering. But the more I talked to Barbara, the more excited I was to learn about her experience at our venue. (She, at one point, flipped the piece of paper laying in front of her over to sketch an impeccable map of Ash Lawn - so that she could more easily talk about where they could set up for cocktail hour, ceremony, etc - I was impressed!)

Then it was Joel, head chef, who had an opportunity to impress :) He brought out our lovely looking apps: butternut squash with brioche grilled cheese, crab cakes with lime sauce and bacon wrapped dates. I knew we liked Joel when he mentioned their kitchen motto 'everything tastes better with bacon.' - yes! The butternut squash was super good and filled a desire of Javs' to include some butternut squash in our menu. We agreed that the grilled cheese was a must and proved helpful when scraping the last bits of soup from the ramekin. The crab was good, but just good - not our fav. The bacon wrapped date though...'candy in your mouth' - was kels' description. SO GOOD! After we shoved our faces, Joel came back out to chat about what we liked, what we loved and what we didn't. So we talked a bit and I was happy that he and Barbara were so open to changing up the crab cake for something else if we wanted - yay for flexibility in vendors!

Then it was salad time! We were served a nicely plated salad of mixed greens, goat cheese, candied walnuts and pears. We were warned that January pears are not nearly as good as October pears and to keep that in mind while tasting. (It made me happy to hear they were planning for fall foods!) The salad was super good - just what you want, light but with some 'good stuff' (you know-all the stuff besides lettuce). We talked a bit with Joel and Barbara afterwards about how to serve the salad. We want a family style dinner, but they suggested a plated salad might change things up a bit and provide some variety - and the more I thought about it, the more I agreed! Javs also thought it might be better - so that one person didn't dig through the family style salad bowl and take all the 'good stuff' before passing it! (not that any of our guests would do that...)

Next up - main course! We had pumpkin ravioli with wild mushroom and sage butter, pepper crusted beef with red wine ju, seared salmon with gremolata sauce and sauteed broccolini with garlic, pine nuts, lemon zest and Parmesan (yeah I'm starving just typing that!). Kelsey put it best: the pumpkin ravioli tasted like fall. :) Which I just loved! The beef was perfectly cooked and we all agreed the wine ju was good! The broccolini was a surprise star, it was the garlic lemon combination really worked and made it a stand out veggie addition! Javs did not love the salmon, more particularly the gremolata sauce (which we learned is made from lemons and capers). Since capers aren't his favorite, we asked for other options for how to prepare the salmon. Joel did a great job listing several: crusted salmon, beurre blanc, or creme fraiche. Yay again for vendor flexibility! I was feeling truly satisfied because of both the wonderful meal (evident by my empty plate....) and discussions with Barbara!

We stuck around and continued to ask some questions. I couldn't help but devour all of her knowledge! (she even gave us some recommendations for other vendors) We also got to try the chair options we could use at the ceremony and reception. (we want to ensure your bottoms are comfy!) And left feeling super good!Since my Mom and Dad couldn't come we're still chatting with them about what should be our decision. Here is how we see it: -Andrea/Cafe Torino's food was better. It was out of this wold, good pasta. And it would be really different/not the typical wedding menu and food. But Andrea is very opinionated and has never worked at Ash Lawn before. -Harvest Moon's food was very good! But their experience with Ash Lawn and how to make an event for 200+ guests work seemed to be above par. They are also super open to being flexible and hearing our desires for the day!

Hopefully news of another decision coming out soon!

Torino is the capital city of the Piemonte region of northwestern Italy

Javier, and I, with my parents, took a little trip to good ole Warrenton, VA this weekend. Several of our wedding attendees called Warrenton home for the better part of their lives and some even knew Cafe Torino when we mentioned it! As you can see from the picture I swiped off their website its not exactly something you'd write home about from the outside. But it wasn't their decor that we were after - it was their food!

Andrea Ferrero, chef and owner with wife Amber of Cafe Torino, had catered one of my mother's sorority sister's daughter's weddings (I know that seemed distant, but its not that far I swear...and we will now refer to her as Kathy) and gave us the recommendation. Kathy's daughter had her wedding at Kathy's gorgeous home in Lexington, VA last October.

So after repeated recounts of the delicious food from Kathy, we walked into the cafe with a flurry of expectations and concerns. #1 being that Ash Lawn does not have a kitchen available on site for caterers. (yeah, I know.) We were all fairly certain that after sharing this detail with Andrea, he would kindly show us the door amid a shower of laughter. But the knowledge of his successful wedding at Kathy's country home gave us courage and hope when describing the conditions in which he would be cooking at Ash Lawn. After some rather entertaining exclamations and sighs he assured us that 'we can do it.' Victory! Well a small one at least.

Next came an hour of questions about our ideas for the wedding and menu discussion. (We learned quickly that Andrea had no trouble letting us know which of our ideas for the day he disagreed with immensely including, but not limited to, serving pie instead of cake, seating our guests at rectangular tables instead of round and omitting a champagne toast from our agenda.)

But finally, he served us one of the most exquisite lunches I've had in a long time. If I've neglected to share it with you, let me say now, that Andrea is Italian. So for our family-style reception he suggested tables set with fresh made focaccia bread, a salad course (with either house Italian dressing or *rolled eyes* Caesar dressing), a pasta course with both white and red sauced pasta and then chicken and tilapia.

He brought us out the two pasta suggestions, chicken marsala and tilapia with a lemon caper sauce. We did a 'take a bite and pass' which quickly became a 'take several bites until someone yells at you for not passing' because everything was just SO good! The red pasta (pictured to the left-Pasta Arabiata-which apparently means angry pasta) looks like a typical penne with marinara sauce, but typical it was not! The sauce had bacon, onions and tomatoes and a little spicy, kick that totally surprised you when you took a bite! The white sauce pasta (Penne Torino) had mushrooms and parm with a truffle oil. It was so rich (and yet oddly light) I think Javier could have eaten the whole thing without even looking up if we had let him!

I had been looking forward to trying the chicken marsala (pictured to the right) and it absolutely did not disappoint! I think my quote was 'if you put this sauce in a pitcher I think I would pour it over everything.' Again, so rich, but somehow light! (how does he do that?) The tilapia was no one's favorite which did not please Andrea, so he made us a new salmon dish with a mustard based sauce and sauerkraut (we were a little skeptical). But it was awesome :) Our menu (if we go with Cafe Torino) was set!

But with our awesome venue and this delish caterer come some complications (of course). Since Ash Lawn provides no cooking facilities, it is the caterer that must bring in their own burners/ovens, serving platters, flatware, linens, etc and Cafe Torino does not provide these things : / which means that we would need to find yet another vendor in Charlottesville to provide the above if we go with Andrea. *negative for Cafe Torino* Many of the Charlottesville caterers that we are also looking at do provide their own equipment. *positive for other caterers*

I really liked that Andrea obviously cared about his food. I have no doubt that he would never send something out of the kitchen that he wasn't 100% proud of. He focuses on having fresh ingredients and promised that the quality that we tasted at his restaurant would be the quality he served our 200+ guests on October 13th. I also think his menu is somewhat 'different' than a lot of wedding food and would probably not be what our guests ate at the other 10+ weddings they attend in 2012. Pasta is also Javier's favorite food so I know he'd be a happy and well feed man on our special day :) - I just don't know if I can handle adding one more vendor to our ever growing list of suppliers to coordinate...

Javier and I get to visit Harvest Moon in Charlottesville this Saturday to investigate another catering option. I'll share with you their pros and cons next week so we can start making that all important FOOD decision!

Czech it out! - guest post by the mother of the bride!

Audrey and Javier have decided that they would like to give Kolace (a Czech pastry) as their favor at the wedding. Lots of people give candy or other treats so at first this may not seem so unusual. However, in our family Grandma Helen (Audrey’s Maternal grandmother) has been the primary and without a doubt the best baker of Kolace for all of our lives. Consequently, few immediate family members have attempted to replicate her creations. I for one knew that the baking of these pastries required much more than simply following a recipe. You see it’s all about the DOUGH. I had mentioned the plan to serve Kolace at the wedding to several family members over the holidays and all immediately knew what this intimidating endeavor entailed. The preparation requires not one but two periods of “letting the dough rise”. It takes practice, experience and judgment to know when the dough has risen enough to proceed with the next steps.

I might explain that Grandma Helen is now age 89 and not able to prepare the needed Kolace for Audrey and Javier’s big day. Previously she had prepared Kolace for Audrey’s two cousins’ weddings, Amber Blaha and Jeff Williams. She also prepared Kolace for the wedding party at Kelsey’s wedding. So the presence of Kolace has become a tradition of sorts at this generations’ weddings.

Consequently, we have issued a challenge of sorts to encourage family members to have a Kolace bake off. We have asked immediate family members to experiment and develop their Kolace baking. The best treats will make their way to the wedding for your enjoyment.

So over the holidays, with a little time on my hands and an empty house, I decided to attempt my first ever batch of Kolace. I might explain that I have never really worked with yeast dough before. I was duly intimidated and had low expectations for the project. However, much to my surprise the results were acceptable in both appearance and taste (ask Aud and Javs). The dough required lots of encouragement to rise (moving from place to place in my house to find the perfect warm place) and lots patience (not my forte’) as it did so. I shared my results with several different testers and was happy to receive positive comments from all. So with several more months ahead to practice, I now have high hopes that the Kolace served at the wedding will be as close to Grandma Helen’s standards as possible.

It will be a special treat to share because it reflects Audrey’s Czech heritage and will be prepared by the loving hands of family members.
-Barbara

I pitched the idea to my mom about serving Kolace as our favor at the wedding with more than a bit of hesitancy. 1) I have had the pleasure of eating my Grandma's Kolace my whole life so I knew just how high the bar was set. (I've heard, more than once, people at our 100+ family reunions walk up to the dessert table, spot Kolace and immediately ask, 'are those Helen Kolace?' They're famous! 2) I had actually gone to study (yes, study not watch) Grandma make Kolace two different times to try to learn the secret that made hers so good and therefore knew the time and precision it takes to make these treats!

But I'm so relieved by the willingness and excitement that both my mother and extended family have expressed with the challenge! And Mom's really were delicious (and on her first try!). As she said, with a few more months to practice, I feel confident that we'll be able to deliver to our guests Kolaces that will make Grandma proud :) Let the mouth watering begin!