Aw... we're so cute

During this week between Christmas and New Year's, work is pretty slow (apart from processing donations and writing thank you letters). I took the time to today to read this entire blog to date.

We're a pretty cute couple. Down right adorable. How do people stand being around us? :-)

I'm also happy to report that I'm used to my rings now (the Zanotelli ring has become the "second" engagement ring rather than the wedding band) and haven't taken them off in days.

We've officially booked John Heymann as the wedding photographer, and I just emailed a woman about officiating our wedding (find the right person for this prestigious task could be the hardest part!). The Wedding March moves on ....

During my pre-Christmas vacation, Mom, Aunt Nancy, Jon, and I discussed The Food. Both Mom and Nancy nixed the Fajita Buffet which is a bummer - although probably a sound idea (as even my own father would not be able to eat it ... much to his dismay). Right now we're debating Brunch Buffet vs. Italian Fiesta Buffet. Of course we haven't even talked to the caterer at the hotel yet, so who knows?! Either option could be really tasty or boringly bland. But we are darn sure we want apple crisp, ice cream, and hot apple cider.

Mmmm .... apples .... (If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, how many days away would an apple-food themed wedding keep the doctor? - hello, awkward sentence syntax! Or, would there just be a really large doctor-free zone around our wedding? That would be kind of funny ..... You know, I don't think I know any doctors .... I mean, except for my doctor .... we don't have any doctor friends - oh wait, we do. Hmmm .... maybe he can get a free pass or something ... This pass allows one doctor into the apple zone. Have I gone insane? Should I stop taking this cold medicine? Or maybe I should just back away from the keyboard?)

The other task I'm avoiding is the DJ/music. There must be music at the ceremony and reception (everyone practice the polka!). There's got to be a good, inexpensive answer .... right? (Ipod! ... oops, more Apples)

Dress Shopping, Part 2

Yesterday Mom, Laura, and I went on the dress quest. We started in Kakauna (city motto: "What's that smell?") at the Bridal Staircase which is a great store. The woman who runs it is very friendly and laid back. She left me and my small entourage to all the dress choosing and trying on by ourselves, which was great.

We spent over 2 hours there - I don't even know how many dresses I tried on. At that store we narrowed it down to 2 favorites: this one and this one (both with celedon color accents).

After that we drove back to Green Bay (stopping first for lunch, of course) over to Elaine Bridal. They were the more traditional style of pairing you with an attendant to help get the dresses on and off. We were helped by an older woman named Carol who was wonderful! She was so much fun, and good at giving compliments (I have a "tiny waist" - comparatively speaking to other attributes, that is - and "very long eyelashes" and "beautiful shoulders." Hey, I'm not adverse to compliments!)

I tried on a Googleplex more dresses, but in the end I kept going back to the very first one of the day. The one that caught my eye back when I started looking at dresses on-line back in October.

We hadn't planned on buying a dress, but Elaine's had made a mistake and wrote down a really low price on the dress tag. So, I bought it! THE DRESS.

No pictures yet. I'm not ready to reveal it. But I bought it (for nearly $200 less than in other stores!)

I'm Ready for My Close Up

Tuesday night's trip to meet photographer John Heymann was a misadventure with a happy ending.

Jon agreed with me that John's photos are beautiful, and John is going to be wonderfully cooperative with our tiny budget, so it's going to work out swimmingly.

Getting to John's office was another matter.

Since Jon was working from home on Tuesday, I left him in charge of the "how are we getting to Somerville" question. Many convoluted conversations later, we decided that I would take the Red Line to Porter Square and walk a few blocks. John would drive there, and we would all live happily ever after.

The Red Line was so crowded that I couldn't get a hand on anything for balance, so I practiced subway surfing - feet planted firmly in the aisle, and concentrated zen-like on staying up right and not knocking over a whole subway car-load full of passengers. I did very well. Yoga pays off!

I emerged at Porter Square and walked quite happily up Upland Street until I reached Raymond Street. When I got to the house/office, though, it was dark, there wasn't a sign, or anything - in fact the only thing visible was a sticker of a crossed out handgun. Well, good, I thought ... he's anti-fire arms. Still, I thought this was odd.

So I called Mom (what would I do without Mom?) and asked her to Google John Heymann and make sure I was in the right place (what would I do without Google?).

Turns out I was supposed to be at Raymond Avenue, which is Somerville (where I thought I was) and not at Raymond Street in North Cambridge (which is where I really was).

In the meantime, Jon was stuck in traffic, and then he took a wrong turn and was thus lost.

Great.

So I had to call John-the-Photographer and explain our misadventure. He very nicely insisted that we come anyway instead of rescheduling. Jon found his way, and then both Jo(h)n's picked me up from the Davis Square T Stop.

Whew.

After that everything went smoothly. We haven't signed the contract yet, but as far as we're concerned we've got one more John involved in the wedding.

The Wedding Machine Rolls On

This evening Jon and I are meeting with our photographer. At least I hope it will all work out and he'll be our photographer. It would be one more thing done - one less thing to worry about.

The photographer is John Heymann, the son of my Grandma Zanotelli's best friend. Grandma used to take me to Mrs. Heymann's house when I was little. I remember playing with toys on the living room floor while they chatted. I may have played with John's toys. How funny is that?

Anyway, I came across his website looking for his phone number, because Grandma wanted to call him when she was in Boston visiting. I was so impressed by the photos on his site - they're absolutely beautiful.

(Keep in mind Jon hadn't actually proposed at this point.)

I didn't think there was anyway we could afford him - and we may found out that to be true tonight - but he told my mom that he would be "honored to photograph the wedding of Ruth Zanotelli's granddaughter;" so I hope it all works out!

The Ring!

The official ring is now here. It's pretty and sparkly, but it will take time to get used to it. I'm scared to death I'm going to break it somehow.

The Date

It's official: Jon and I will be married on Saturday, September 27, 2008.

Mark your calendars!

White Dresses ... Even Bows ... But No Poofy Sleeves

Yes, on Sunday Kelly (not Molly) and I went to David's Bridal in Natick (Land O' Commerce) to try on dresses. I wasn't overly impressed by the customer service, but I didn't expect to be. Other than that, it was tons of fun.

This dress was too heavy (but pretty)

Too sparkly

Too complicated (lace up back and big gaudy bow?)

I like this dress! Of course, I like the Alfred Angelo dress better (it has pretty embroidery). But I want my trim in green - peridot, to be exact.
This dress was a surprise. It wasn't even my idea to try it on. It was Kelly. Way to go! I'm not convinced it's "the one." But it's definitely in the running.

Prettier, Sparklier Things

Friday Jon and I took the "family jewels" to DiPrisco's to find out about cleaning, resizing, fixing, etc the two rings.

I wasn't sure what to expect - in fact, I was a little afraid that the Diamond Guy would be a bit snooty about our less-than-stellar rings.

But, in fact, Diamond Guy was great (I should have known. My contact at DiPrisco's whom I order award plaques from for work is the nicest woman in the world. Of course she would set me up with uber-nice Diamond Guy).

Learning about our rings and diamonds was really fun. He could tell right away that the diamond from Jon's grandfather was not from the USA. When I told him it was most likely from Ireland, he said, "Ah, that explains it." Turns out that while the shape was very European, the cut was a bit unusual. But I guess in Ireland, that's how they cut diamonds back in the early 1900s.

And I thought that the Zanotelli ring was just a "cheap" silver ring from the 1920s. Turns out it is white gold, custom made, and maybe even older.

I get to pick up the "new" rings on Friday. :-) Most exciting.

Pretty Sparkly Things

No I do not have an engagement ring yet. But I have my "practice" ring of which I've become very fond.

In fact, if I didn't have families throwing heirloom rings at me, I wouldn't ask for anything more

My practice ring (thank you So Good Jewelry)

From Rings

My Aunt Nancy has very generously passed on the Zanotelli Family ring to me. My hope is to use it as the wedding band. It's the ring my Great Grandpa Zanotelli gave to my Great Grandma.

From Rings

This weekend I will finally get to see the ring from Jon's family (which will probably become The Official Engagement Ring.

Stay tuned ...

(my goodness I have chubby, wrinkly fingers .... )

The Dress

I've been looking through magazines and online incessantly looking at dresses. I can't believe how I've turned into this person who obsesses over dress silhouettes (A-Line), necklines (probably strapless), and color (white with green accents). Of course even with all this thinking, I could put on my "favorite" dress and find out it looks ridiculous on me. But until that happens, I have photos. Which one do you like?

1. (except green trim of course)

2. (white with green ribbon, or maybe even in green!)

3. (the long version of the above dress ... but it is only boring white)

So ... anyone have an opinion?

Ceremony

Saturday Jon and I are going to look at the Library Room at the Courtyard Marriot. It will be set up for a wedding ceremony, so we'll get an idea of what it will look like.

We're pretty sure we want this room. Did I mention it's oval? Oh yeah. Oval, baby.


But as for the reception - we've got no idea. Or, rather, we've got tons of ideas.

The Engagement

The Date: Sunday, October 7, 2007

Jon was going about his usual Sunday routine: watching football, doing laundry, making his lunches for the week (I know, he's so organized!). I was knitting and "watching" football with Jon (he was watching in between tasks. I don't really pay that much attention to the game). I had pulled a muscle and my back was sore, so I asked Jon to put in a load of laundry for me. Because Jon's such a swell guy, he did.

Jon came back up from the basement, and I went over to thank him. But before I could say anything, Jon said, "I have a question I've been meaning to ask you for a long time, and I'm just going to ask it: Will you marry me?"

Obviously I said yes.

And then we hugged and jumped up and down and celebrated. "That was fun!" I exclaimed with a big smile. "Do it again!"

So he did. Jon got down on one knee and asked, "Will you marry me?"

Again I said yes, and we celebrated all over again.

We enjoyed themselves so much that after work the next day, I came home from work, got down on one knee, and proposed to Jon - just to see what it was like.

It was good. Jon said yes, of course, and there was more jumping and hugging and laughing.

We were still enjoying the proposal event so much that on Tuesday we performed Synchronized Proposing (copyright 2007, Jenny&Jon), both getting down on one knee and simultaneously asking and answering the big question.

We feel fully engaged and will now move on.

How We Met

I was using an online dating service and through it met a guy named Mike. We went to Union Station in Worcester to see Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson and had fun, but the magic wasn't there.

Mike thought I had a lot in common with his friend Jon, so he asked me if he could give Jon my email address. For some crazy reason, I said yes. I still don't know why. But thank goodness I did!

Jon wrote really great emails: funny, personal, and grammatically correct. When we decided to exchange phone numbers I was hesitant. I liked his emails so much! What if he was a big dork? What if he had a squeaky voice? Turns out he was just as great on the phone. He had such a nice voice.

When he suggested we met, I was so nervous. What if this great guy with a great sense of humor and a mellifluous voice was hideous and awkward in public. Or, what if he was so amazing, I acted like a gibbering idiot?

OF course none of that happened.

We met at the now nonexistent Tatnuck Booksellers (that was such a great place). We had lunch and wandered through the aisles of books until the store closed.

The rest is history. Or, rather, ourstory.