WMR #4 - You Again

You Again: 2010

Watch Date: week of 4/17

Before two weeks ago I had never heard of You Again but somehow Math had gotten it recommended on Netflix. (He's DEFINITELY a keeper if he keeps up with girlie movies better than I do!).  He wanted to watch it because it has Kristin Bell in it as the main character, Marni, an actress we LOVE from Veronica Mars. (Great show by the way, a great mix of crime solving and teenage angst).  It also has Jaime Lee Curtis as Marni's mom and Sigourney Weaver as Curtis's rival.

This was your typical "I was the biggest dork in high school and was taunted and bullied all the time by the pretty, popular cheerleader but I persevered and now my life is together only to fall apart again once I remeet my arch nemesis" storyline. Bell was the dork, and Odette Annabele was her rival, Joanna.  The story begins years later when it turns out that Marni's brother just happens to be marrying Joanna.  So the two have to meet and Joanna pretends like she'd never met Marni before and had complete personality overhaul. This doesn't work for Marni as all she wants is an apology for past injustices so she starts dredging up things from the past in order to provoke Joanna. Chaos ensues, mostly unfortunate toward Marni (She falls in an ant hill, sticks her hand to her hair w/ her grandma's denture cream). Then you have the"big reveal", when she digs up an old high school video yearbook and exposes Joanna for the bitch that she was and ruins the wedding plans etc. etc. 

But this wouldn't be a romantic comedy with an ending like that so Joanna ends up all pathetic eating Cheez Whiz on Oreos in her wedding dress (complete with grease stains) in front of the fridge while Marni has to comfort her. Joanna comes clean and says how sorry she is and how she wanted to start over and how much she loves Marni's brother yadda, yadda, yadda, ad nauseum. 

So  - Spoiler Alert - Marni talks to Joanna and her bro and they get back together and have a beautiful wedding and EveryoneLivesHappilyEverAfterTheEndThankGod. 

Now, if you haven't noticed already, I'm a huge fan for gooey romantic comedies that leave everyone in them in love and with the afterglow etc, but even this one was too much for me. It shot back and forth from such extremes of the two girls going at it, then everyone being sweet and all "ooh weddings!". On top of the main story there is a parallel story between Marni's mom and Joanna's Aunt.  However, instead of being enemies in high school they were best friends until Marni's mom (the pretty, #1, popular girl) screwed the Aunt over by stealing her boyfriend or something.  Both of these storyline seemed so forced like the writers were really trying to find ways for the characters to come into conflict. 

Bitch, it's ON!

Though I have to say that there was one positive of this movie - a very vague and budding relationship began between Marni and her former-high school crush Charlie (I think?) in the present day. This relationship didn't really go very far and just ended with Marni being encouraged by her grandma to go ask him out. I'm really glad that they didn't try to force a whole relationship into this movie (With the other 2 story lines, it was already far too crowded on the dance floor).  I like the mystery and the subtle interactions between the two - it was just enough  to allow the viewer (me) to know that there was something there but not enough to induce the rushed-romance gag reflex. 

But now I have to say, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD GUYS - HIGH SCHOOL WAS A LONG TIME AGO!  We don't know exactly Marni and Joanna are but it's gotta be at least 5 years after high school since they both have good jobs, went to college and are getting promotions. And the Mom/Aunt thing - HOLY COW it's been, like, 30+ years! GET THE CRAP OVER YOURSELVES! I mean seriously, high school is such a minute period of time that all but the most horrendous experiences are just blips on the radar of life. 

Bring IT!

Yeah, bullying is a huge problem in schools and I'm not saying that it's not, but Marni's whole deal in the movie was that she worked really hard to pull herself up by her bootstraps and got a great job + promotion and is a put-together woman now. The idea that she could just fall apart that quickly and decide that she just HAS to go digging up the past instead of letting it go and moving forward so she can "save" her brother is so bogus. And for some reason she just can't say to her brother "Hey, remember in high school when kids would tease me and leave me feeling totally crappy? Yeah, Joanna was not only one of those kids but the worst of them all. I mean, she seems great now, but I want to make sure you know because it was a really big deal for me then."  She did try to do that but there was never enough "time". But he's her BROTHER, I'm sure he'd make time if it was necessary.

And for Marni yeah, your 4 years were ruined forever but look at how good the NEXT 5 years went? I can definitely say that the things I thought that were a big deal in high school are so silly now. Hell, I don't even REMEMBER 90% of it.  It's also true that the rampaging hormones and the looming monster of "adulthood" probably blew things out of proportion. Luckily our hormones grow up too and eventually people whom I was convinced betrayed me then are not going to phase me now unless they're still total d-bags.

And in the case of this movie, Joanna WAS really trying. She refused to apologize to Marni, but honestly she was being perfectly nice and friendly and didn't do anything bitchy until Marni just HAD to go and poke at the  wound again. And again. And again...So honestly, the "Good Girl" was really the "Bitch" and the "Bitch" was really the "Reformed Bitch". Anyway that turned into a rant...sorry 'bout that.

I did love the scene w/ the grandma on the ribbon swing. 

Other things I found obnoxious about the movie - It's claimed that Marni's brother didn't know Joanna in high school - I mean seriously, how oblivious could a big brother be to not notice who the girl was picking on his little sister the whole time? Not believable.  Also the shenanigans were (I'd say not believable but I already did) completely over-the-top and not funny but more like embarrassing and painful.  And don't even get me started on the ending - more cheese than the entire can of Cheese Whiz. It was a physically hard movie to watch. 

Definitely give this movie a 1 star and recommend that unless you're a big fan of any of the actors, steer clear!

Math's rating: 2 - well, 2 1/2. He did fall asleep to part of it and didn't feel like he missed much though he does love his Kristin Bell. (On a side note: This is the 2nd terrible movie she's been in lately. Couple's Retreat was the other one - please don't see it. What happened to the Forgetting Sarah Marshall days?)

Up Next: I Love You Man and Something Borrowed

Wedding Movie List: 
1). Father of the Bride
2). My Big Fat Greek Wedding
3). The Wedding Singer
4). Made of Honor
5). The Wedding Crashers
6). Four Weddings and a Funeral
7). 27 Dresses
8). My Best Friend's Wedding
9). Bride Wars
10). The Wedding Planner
11). Bridesmaids
12). Muriel's Wedding
13). Runaway Bride
14). You Again
15). Something Borrowed

16). I Love You Man

Royal Wedding

LOVE her hat. Could I pull off something like that?

I don't think I'd be a very good bride-to-be if I didn't at least COMMENT on the Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton to Prince William. So there...comment made. But on an interesting side note (please understand that I REALLY don't care about the royal wedding. In fact, my friends' and family's wedding are way more exciting for me) there's apparently tons of speculation about her dress but not much about her headgear. This article wonders if she's going to go for sparkly-tiara or no-sparkly tiara.   Here's princess Di's (and let me just say..UGH! That dress. SOOO '80s!).

No offense, Di. Your personality and headgear didn't really go together anyway.

I think tiaras are OK when they're subtle bands of sparklyness but that big, honkin' thing? Good God no...
Anyway, here's the article if you're interested.

WMR #3 - Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids: 2011

Watch Date: 4/11/11

This movie was picked by Math. Not only did he pick it, but he was sweet enough to pick up a handful of free-tickets to a special pre-screening at the University of Colorado.  This movie looked intriguing because it has two people from Saturday Night Live in it: the Maid of Honor (Kristin Wiig) and the bride (Maya Rudoplh).  Also, it has Erin from the Office as another bridesmaid.

The story is based on these two friends from childhood, one who is getting married and the other who is her Maid of Honor (MoH).  However, their lives have taken completely different paths, the bride is successful with a successful husband-to-be and everything is happy-perfect for her. The MoH, on the other hand, lost all her money on a bakery that failed, got her heart broken by this total douche-bag boyfriend/sex buddy and lives with a creepy British roommate and his even creepier, even less British sister. (Effectively ugly Americans with British accents).

The MoH joins a cast of equally weird characters - the cynical, married cousin with three boys (Wendi McLendon-Covey); the sweet, innocent newlywed (Ellie Kemper); the overweight, crude, tomboyish future sister-in-law (Melissa McCarthy) and the gorgeous, rich, successful, poised fiance's boss's young wife (Rose Byrne). Right away there is conflict between the scraggly, down-to-earth, "yesteryear" MoH and this new gorgeous woman who is more "now" in the bride's life. Shenanigans ensue involving freakouts, breakdowns, cry-outs and one very unpleasant bodily-functions schene.

Left to Right: Chubby, innocent, hawt, slutty, bride, MoH

I have to say that I had no idea what this movie was going to be like so I wasn't expecting anything in particular except "Yay! Free theatre movie!". It's good that I had no expectations because even still the movie didn't live up to them. First off, the characters were all way too wacky and none of them (including the bride and MoH) were likeable - well I guess except Ellie's character but she got so little face time that I can't really say.  Also, none of them were particularly funny...well ok...I guess that's not entirely true. The MoH was pretty great at her part and managed to be the most believable and funny. Also, the sister-in-law has some pretty funny and even an endearing moment but they make her really gross also so all the former is ruined.

The lunch before the fateful eye-covering scene (sorry Brazilians).

Some people have described this movie as "The Hangover meets Sex and the City". Well, I think this is a way too flattering definition as Sex and the City is 100 times more classy and The Hangover isn't nearly as lowbrow and tactless (and that's saying something).  I mean, you have a scene where a bunch of pretty (for the most part) girl are wearing $800 designer bridesmaid dresses and (Warning: graphic content ahead) projectile vomiting on each other and shitting in non-bathroom locations. I'm not usually offended to the point that I feel nauseated and flabbergasted and have to cover my eyes, but this movie did it.

And don't get me started on all the excessive snooty things this pretty, wanna-be MoH does to effectively 1-up the real MoH (like giving out lab puppies with pink berets as shower gifts) or how the bride reacts to her friend's misery over the whole thing. I can say that I believe the bride isn't a very good friend afterall and the MoH should just walk away from that toxic friendship. But who knows...that could be a typical wedding-planning occurrence (though I can't imagine my MoH flipping out. If she did, I should take it seriously hehe). 

As a side story, there was a romance with the MoH and a cop (Chris O'Dowd) who was very cute and the only character that seemed to not only know what was going on, but be normal to boot. I would have loved this storyline to be developed more but as is the case when you have 2 parallel storylines, both suffer. Neither the bridesmaids relationships with each other nor the MoH-cop relationship really grew to full fruition. Too bad....

My rating is 1 out of 5 stars. I don't know if 0 is a valid rating but there were some parts that coerced a chuckle from me, so I should give it some credit.

Math rates Bridesmaids a 3 out of 5 and "not a good mix." Obviously he's way more forgiving of the vomit scene than I am. Save your money people, go see something...anything...instead. And if you MUST see it, just wait till it's out on Netflix.

Wedding Movie List:
1). Father of the Bride
2). My Big Fat Greek Wedding
3). The Wedding Singer
4). Made of Honor
5). The Wedding Crashers
6). Four Weddings and a Funeral
7). 27 Dresses
8). My Best Friend's Wedding
9). Bride Wars
10). The Wedding Planner
11). Bridesmaids
12). Muriel's Wedding
13). Runaway Bride
14). You Again
15). Something Borrowed

WMR #2 - My Big Fat Greek Wedding

My Big Fat Greek Wedding: 2002

Watch Date: Week of 4/1

Ok, I have to admit that I started this Wedding Movie Review thing about 4 movies in, so I'm trying to make up for lost time so that I don't get way too behind.

The second movie we watched was My Big Fat Greek Wedding - an obvious choice for me as I claim that this is one of my favorite wedding movies of all time. Let's see if it lives up to my expectations....

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a typical ugly-duckling-turns-swan movie where Toula (Nia Vardalos) is the younger daughter of Greek expats (Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan) and their ginormous families. Toula is the "dorky kid" who went to Greek school instead of cheerleading, wore glasses and braces instead of colorful scrunchies and refused to get married just because "that's what good Greek girls did". So here she is, at age 30, looking like she stepped out of 5th grade, getting "old" and stuck in a crappy job at her family's diner going NOWHERE!

But then she sees Ian Miller (John Corbett), high school teacher and all-around cutie-pants hunk. This inspires her to stand up to her father, take computer classes, get a better job (at her Aunt's travel agency), curl her hair, get contacts, wear makeup and get sexy clothes. After this transformation the two start dating, decide to get married then the fun really begins. Toula's family is, shall we say, VERY involved in the wedding planning and again, the wedding stuff grows to ridiculous proportions and Toula goes along with it because...it is her family, after all.

I remembered this movie from a few years ago as being super-fun and I'm glad to say that my original impression was correct. It is super fun, but as you can see from the intro, it takes a while to really get into the wedding aspect. This time around, while watching I kept thinking "What? You STILL haven't met Ian?!" But, for all its length, the transformation from frumpy-Toula to gorgeous-Toula seemed rushed but too detailed. Though, it was a good transformation. She really did look pretty terrible in the beginning which is a feat because Nia is quite an attractive woman!

Put some Windex on it!

The crazy family aspect was my favorite part of the movie, even though the dad was a bit narrow-minded. I LOVED all the aunts and cousins getting involved and taking liberties in deciding how "Greek" the wedding would be. (The answer is...very Greek!). I felt that the relationship that Toula had with her mother was pretty great and reminded me a lot of my relationship with my mother (maybe a few tens of pounds and a dozen relatives lighter).  And conversely, the same goes for Toula and her father (though, admittedly, my father is way cooler in letting me marry whom I want to from the get-go).  My family, again, is like hers (though less of them) - very enthusiastic during get-togethers with wild and crazy fun though they are more like wine/beer/cocktails people instead of Ouzo.  The family were also what made the movie funny and I really appreciate that sort of person-related comedy style. You know - it's funny because people are quirky (it's that way in real life too! har de har har). I especially loved the Windex gags.

Are they REALLY in love? Ian is looking away instead of at her.

What also felt rushed was the whirlwind romance between Toula and Ian, from first-meeting to "marry-me-after-we-just-had-sex" conversation. I'd rather that the relationship development to have happened before the movie rather than them trying to prove it all to me in a half hour or less.  Thus, I didn't really buy their relationship until after the wedding (but maybe that's how it's supposed to be in real life?). In the end, it was still very touching and sweet and I was left warm and fuzzy.

Overall, I'd give this movie a 4 out of 5 stars since it hit all the right buttons as far as humor, happy tears, and snuggly feeling.  Plus, I love montages.

Math's verdict: is 3 out of 5.  He says "It was decent, it was fine, it was a fun time." Translation: he didn't really care either way. I know he wasn't groaning in agony but he won't be ecstatic about it if I said "Let's go see MBFGW at the drive-in!". (I wish we had a drive-in still....).

P.S. The computer classes that Toula takes, seem like they should be set more in the early/mid-1990s than early2000s. What I want to know is, was the movie set in a different time than it was filmed? Otherwise, it seems unrealistic.

Wedding Movie List:
1). Father of the Bride
2). My Big Fat Greek Wedding
3). The Wedding Singer
4). Made of Honor
5). The Wedding Crashers
6). Four Weddings and a Funeral
7). 27 Dresses
8). My Best Friend's Wedding
9). Bride Wars
10). The Wedding Planner
11). Bridesmaids
12). Muriel's Wedding
13). Runaway Bride
14). You Again

15). Something Borrowed 

Wedding Movie Review #1 - Father of the Bride

Father of the Bride: 1991

Watch Date: Week of 3/26

Wedding Movie List:
1). Father of the Bride
2). My Big Fat Greek Wedding
3). The Wedding Singer
4). Made of Honor
5). The Wedding Crashers
6). Four Weddings and a Funeral
7). 27 Dresses
8). My Best Friend's Wedding
9). Bride Wars
10). The Wedding Planner
11). Bridesmaids
12). Muriel's Wedding
13). Runaway Bride
14). You Again
15). Something Borrowed

(This is my movie list, I will usually put it at the bottom of the post.  I've added some more movies to this list under the recommendation of friends. oh and WARNING: These posts will probably contain movie spoilers.)

So you see that "Father of the Bride" is crossed off... Well that was the obvious the first choice...why obvious? You know, I'm not actually sure... It just was, OK...Do I have to have a reason for everything?

Anyway, you may find it UNUSUAL that I've never seen this movie before. I wasn't really on the pop culture bandwagon in elementary school. I think it's partially because my dad wasn't into stuff like this and my mom had no clue it existed.  And me, like the good little kid that I was, only knew the channel numbers for Disney, Nickelodeon and The Simpsons (where most of the  pop-culture references went right over my head). There is some debate over whose idea this one was (though I assert that it was Math's since I only reluctantly watch '80s-'90s - not my favorite time period in film or fashion...well mostly fashion!).

Father of the Bride is, as the title suggests, a movie about a father (Steve Martin) who is learning to let go of his "baby girl" (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) while planning this ridiculously ostentatious wedding in the process. He has a very hard time accepting the husband-to-be and he keeps thinking of his daughter as the little 6 year old she was.  And while I don't know about how my dad feels on this part, I definitely think he would sympathize with this movie in the monetary sense as they do all kinds of excessive things like hire an expensive and weird-talking wedding planner (Martin Short) and his assistant, inviting 500 guests, moving all the furniture out of their house, planting gardens specifically for the wedding and bringing in swans.  First of all, this is all stuff that is WAY too over the top, that we wouldn't even consider in a million years so in that way I can't really relate. Though the outrageous pricing of stuff does hit home a little bit (though hopefully we will not have it be THAT outrageous!).

"What? I talk weird? It's not like I'm trying to be funny or anything..."

Second of all, it seems that the bride doesn't really do much to be involved. She accompanies her mom (Diane Keaton) and the wedding planner places and reads a wedding magazine. It really irked me when the father and mother were trying to decide the guest list and she just sat there while they argued about which of their friends to invite. BOR-ing. But, I guess I have to give the movie credit, it's not called The Bride, after all.

I could very much tell that this was a movie of the '90s because of the fashion (oh. so. very. bad.) and the humor. If Math had a quarter for every time I said "OMG look at her _____...YUCK!!!!!" he'd, well, have enough to probably buy a soda or a cheap beer. =) I find the humor of these movies too slap-sticky for me. (The whole ripped suit thing). Though some of it is a little quirky and fun in that sense.

 

This is not the best example but...a suit? Girl, you're 22 but you look like you're 40!

Lastly, I think this movie was more sad for Math than inspiring (even ironically) for the two of us. All he could think about was Zoe growing up and him having to give her away.  Which WASN'T THE POINT...MATH! *sigh*. (The point was for us to be jazzed up about our wedding!).

So the verdict for this movie is (Sorry nostalgia-movie fans) 2 1/2 of 5 stars. It was too cheesy to be really heartwarming and too silly to really be funny. I probably won't be watching this again.

Math's verdict is 2 of 5 stars for "movie movies" but for "wedding movies" he says 4 of 5. He says that if he were watching just for fun, he would think that *I* wasted his time, but since we're getting married the movie is cute and endearing and he's glad he watched. Math's way nicer than I am. :o)

Introducing...Wedding Movie Reviews!!

 Since I am making Math watch ~1 wedding movie per month (probably will get to be more than that as we get closer to the time and find out there's still a ton of wedding movies to watch), I thought I should use these for something aside from my own personal enjoyment. Thus the Wedding Movie Review (WMR) was born! But let me say, I doubt that these posts will be long or good as I am not a critic and very much have my own weird and random tastes that are sometimes made up on the fly. However, maybe it'll be helpful or at least mildly amusing for you guys.

Let me make official pre-watching commentary on these. 1). I've already seen "27 Dresses", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", "Made of Honor" and I know that the 1st two were fun and the 3rd no so good, but Patrick Dempsey is cute so what the hell? 2). "The Wedding Planner" is going to be a difficult one to watch b/c Matthew McConoghey makes me cringe and vomit a little inside. 3). I'm not expecting any of these to be 5-star films. (Well maybe "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"...we'll see!).

Here is a short list of my "must see" wedding movies (will probably grow as I think of more):

YESS!!! After fidgeting with this thing for about an hour, I've finally gotten the movie pics where I like them. Also, recommendations are welcome! =D

Other Venues I've Looked at but Discarded

Hi Y'all...If you want to know about wedding venues I've looked into in detail please go to the post "The Venue(s)..." instead. This is going to be a not-so thorough account of other places I've considered, if even fleetingly, for our wedding.

1). The Paramount Theatre:  Cool idea, but a bit too dramatic and stuffy. Not enough natural light...which is great for symphonies and operas though...Also, a bit up there in price, $7000 for the basics w/o frivolous things like the "ceremony". Though you can get your names on the marquis sign for a mere several hundred dollars.

2). The Brown Palace:  Yeah...Lyndsie...in your wildest Marie Antoinette-inspired dreams. So decadent! So frivolous! And at $115 (low end) per person, they'd better be serving my guests gold encrusted endangered baby whale. (I'm kidding...I'd never condone baby whale...though gold encrusted chicken could be fun...). An evening here for me and 200 of my closest friends is already double the wedding budget. Denver Art Museum, watch out...there's a new kid in town! (er...old kid I guess...the Brown Palace was there first, I'm sure).

Though, I do plan to have our wedding suite there. And at $169/night, it's not too bad. For that...But don't worry, out-of-town guests, there's a Comfort Inn (owned by these guys) right next door for ~$119/night. So we can totally have breakfast together the next morning! (And get drunk the previous night! In-town friends, I'm expecting you to do this as well!)

3). The Nature and Science Museum:
While I do love this place, it's too...well..science-y for our wedding. Let's face it, Math and I may be intellectual, but our intellectual pursuits are as far away from Natural Science as ...um..natural Science is away from us. But, if anyone else thinks it's right up their alley, feel free! I'd love to go to a wedding here! ^_^

Coming up next....The Venue(s)!

The Venue(s)...

This weekend, Math and spent Saturday unexpectedly venue hunting. It all started out when we went downtown for Doors Open Denver to tour the work-in-progress, not-yet-built-yet History Colorado Center. Unfortunately, either A LOT of people are considering having their wedding there, or there are more construction project aficionados in Denver than we thought because when we arrived at the ticket booth at 10:00 for a 12:00 tour, it was all sold out. However, since we had already wrangled Math's parents into babysitting Zoë and I was in the wedding-venue mindset, I thought we'd just go to downtown and "walk around".

Thank you to Math's mom for giving me, what seems to be, the Bible of Colorado wedding venues. As we were driving back from Aurora to downtown, I was frantically calling places hoping that SOMEWHERE would be open. I was pretty discouraged after the first few places were closed, but I didn't give up. I figured if worse comes to worst we could just look at some hotels. Luckily, there were a few places that did answer.


1). The Lumber Baron Inn
Located at 38th and I-25 this historic mansion was built in the late-1800's by John Mouat who was, coincidentally called the Lumber Baron because he used this mansion to showcase his wares by doing each room in a different type of wood.

What it costs: $2499 for evening 6-11pm, $1299 for afternoon 11am-4pm + $150 for the ceremony.
Catering: Open
Bar: Liquor license so all liquor must be provided by company.
Perks: can rent out the bed and breakfast rooms, can do inside and/or outside weddings.
Pros: Neat and Historic. OMFG the bedrooms were sooooo quaint. Each one had a gigantic tub and quirky beds and it all was historic and fancy. Relatively cheap, open catering sounds nice b/c then you can find the cheapest. Super nice owner.
Cons: Slightly on the small side, a wedding of 250 would be pretty big. A little run-down looking in the common areas. Neighborhood isn't so great with big ugly strip mall right across the street. Far enough away from downtown/bars that it would be a pain to get there.

We don't think we'll go with this one because it is a bit out of the way and not quite to our tastes. Though I love the history of it all, I also think it would be a bit too small for our group (maybe). Also, we're not thrilled about an outdoor wedding. Though, I would like to just stay in the bed-and-breakfast part for one of our adorable anniversaries!

2). Artwork Network
This is an Art Gallery at 7th and Santa Fe in the heart of the artsy-fartsy downtown area with tons of galleries and hole-in-the-wall but really good Mexican food.

What it Costs: $2500 for 8 hrs 4pm-11pm (incl setup/cleanup). + small back gallery for $250 more
Catering: 12 different ones to choose from with flexible prices for any budget.
Bar: buy own liquor and caterer will serve it (=cheaper).
Perks: DJ for $250, Art Registry (where you register for a piece of art and ppl donate to that piece to make it cheaper for u to buy).

A wedding ceremony in Artwork Network

Pros: Exposed brick and ducts with a really cool ceiling.  Cool art for decoration, including movable walls to do whatever with. The guy we talked to creates really great layouts. Good price. Space to do our photo guest book (yes, I totally did write "year book", first!), space for kids. Longer hours. Close to happenin' places like bars and clubs. Funky-cool buildings to take photos by. Good Price. (I said that last thing twice...can you see I'm excited about this one?)
Cons: slightly smallish for 250 ppl seated, but good space for cocktail reception with fewer tables. (Which is what we wanted anyway). Parking isn't great. Maybe can't do A/V slideshow stuff.

We REAAAAAALLLLLY like this one! It's edgy but classy but not too formal, and it totally fits our style.  (Well, Math's style really. I like to think of myself as a good party planner, able to work with a variety of themes.  But it is an aesthetic that really entices me). And seriously, Art Registry? How cool is that?!

3). Denver Art Museum:
The Art Museum is located downtown at 14th and Broadway and is so neat looking! It's pretty close to a lot of stuff, in the thick of it all.

What it costs: $4000 for a HUGE room (~400 ppl seated w/ no dance floor) for 4 hrs.. + $1000 for ceremony in Sculpture Garden.
Catering: Kevin Taylor Catering (like, the same Kevin Taylor @ the Opera House, Kevin). ~$35/person.
Bar: Cash/open bar, venue provides liquor (=$$$$)
Pros: GORGEOUS!!!!! Classy, formal, swanky and cultural. Would be a great place to show off how cool Denver is, to my out-of-town-guests. The food is guaranteed to be amazing and I'm sure we'd all have a great time.
Cons: SPENSIVE!! Yeah, $5k just for venue rental is a leeeetttle bit too much for us. Throw in Kevin Taylor (even at a competitive-to-caterers rate) and, for 250 guests I've pretty much spent my entire wedding budget. Forget the dress or favors or photography (it's a good thing we have memories, right?). And we could probably go on our honeymoon to Glenwood Hot Springs.... Also probably a bit too formal for my non-floor-length dress.

So yeah, probably not going with this one unless I suddenly come upon a bunch of money and our tastes change dramatically. DAM, them!

Not the actual building, just a rendering.

4). History Colorado Center
This was actually the first one I started researching, but the only one I haven't visited yet as the building is still under construction (see above). This guy's contemporary manifestation was the Colorado History Museum which was a really cute but maybe small-and-oldish building. Actually, Lily got married there in Oct of 2009 on the patio terrace w/ a view of Denver. Very purty. This was our first choice before we started looking more.

What it costs:  $2500-$3500 depending on the room and if you're going to have your ceremony and reception in separate or diff rooms.
Catering: Continental "Divine" Catering with a flexible pricing scale. I did some rough numbers for this one and we could do $6500-$9000 for a buffet dinner for 250ppl or $2500-$4000 for appetizers/pasta station.
Bar: Any of the 2 options listed above.
Perks: Free membership to museum for 1 year, and they're throwing the terrace (pictured above w/ the railing) in for free.
Pros: Good price. All history-y (I can't call this one historic as they're building something brand-new!).  The room we want is the 4th floor w/ a view of the Rocky Mtns. Room for kids, audio (at least) hookups, pretty (theoretically), right downtown next to the Art Museum.
Cons: Maybe still a bit formal. Western sun might kill our guests during the reception since we'll be in high summer. And I definitely can't have my guests, especially the out-of-towners, dropping dead on their Chicken Cacciatore. (Ok , I won't really have that at my dinner b/c I don't want chicken...or really meat at all...well maybe...more later). Building not built yet, may've lost our chance to see the space till October which is way too late to make a decision.

We were really into this place until we couldn't get in to see it last weekend. It still seems nice and we may still consider it, but we have to look at catering options for the Artwork Network place and maybe a few more places. But being the same price as the gallery, it might lose to that one.

5). The Curtis Hotel:
The Curtis is, oddly enough, on Curtis and 14th st. It's really really in downtown, w/in walking distance to a lot of after party places.

So we haven't actually looked into this place yet, but the lady called me back yesterday. It's funky and looks neat but that's all I really know.

Now I'm going to shut up before this post gets ANY longer. You know you're rambling when Blogger freezes up trying to save your post b/c it's so huge!

Cheers, My Peeps. And if you have any other suggestions for downtown Denver, pls let me know!

Buying Stuff Already!

Wedding books, bridal favors, thank you gifts, shower prizes.

Yes...if you know me, you know that the week after getting proposed to, I went out straightaway to buy a wedding planning book (or several). Thank God that Borders is going out of business and everything was 50% off! So I bought a weekly planner and a DIY Wedding book. I'm really excited to Do a lot of It Myself! Especially invitations...and place cards...guest book...decorations...dress...the possibilities are ENDLESS!!! OMG THIS IS GOING TO BE SO GREAT!

(Um...excuse me.)

Ok, yes, the book...well, I haven't gotten past the first chapter yet, but it seems to be interested in the DIY aspect more so than the price aspect. But to be fair, it's not called "The Cheapest Wedding You Can Possibly Have" (which is a book I'd totally buy, maybe canceling out the "cheapest" aspect). So far, I've only read about DIY dresses which has definitely inspired me to the vintage look and some other stuff that I can't disclose now, so you'll just have to wait for the "dress" post! (There will be one, don't worry!).

Anyway, please realize that I get my special brand of insanity from my mom, who, as some of you may know...is also very enthusiastic about...life. Though my Type A personality traits have somehow materialized out of a place that is still am mystery to me. On this same vein, my mom, who was sick for the first week of our engagement, has now taken on a life of her own in wedding planning. Trust me, she has wasted no time in getting into the swing of this wedding thing. She also bought me a planning book, but while mine is a week-by-week calendar, hers is more like a choice comparison chart. Which, if I may say so myself, go perfectly hand-in-hand. She also bought me a book called "The Natural Wedding" which is, as it seems, about weddings to have minimal impact on the environment. Though, don't take my word for it, wait till I read it before coming to your own conclusions.Than you mom...like they say, the apple never falls far from the tree. Even though, in this case the apple got a head start, the tree is way faster growing. =)

So...other stuff I've bought and paid for so far...I already bought either "bridal party favors" or "bridal shower thank you gifts" or "bridal shower prizes". I can't really say what they are exactly because certain ppl may read this and be un-surprised by (and may spend the months dreading) their gifts. But let me just say that again, TY to Borders for going bankrupt and closing the Boulder branch. Without you, my wedding planning experience might be way more boring and lacking of pink books and destination wedding mags.

And for next time...VENUES!!! WOO!

All That Glitters is GOLD and DIAMONDS!

YAY! I finally got my ring back from the jeweler's!!!

I wanted to start the first few posts by sounding as un-materialistic as possible because when it comes down to it, I really didn't put the ring very high as "wedding must-haves." I mean, I love the engagement ring as a symbol, one unbroken, never-ending piece of material that acts much like a good marriage should where even if there are "bumps" in the road, the path continues indefinitely.  However, I don't value diamonds so highly.

First of all, I don't like what I hear about the diamond trade - children and adults in 3rd world countries getting treated badly and paid very little for some corporate diamond mogul (DeBeers) to make bank on the rocks that they pull from the ground. I don't know the specifics anymore (there was a time when I really cared about that) but I do know that it's an evil, evil industry and should be supported as little as possible.

Second of all, I really hate the fact that diamonds cost so damn much. Why would I want my husband-to-be to spend the equivalent of our honeymoon, or worse our wedding, or even worse our FIRST NEW CAR, on a piece of jewelry that I wear every day and risk breaking, getting robbed or simply losing? (Note: I'm not a lose-y person, I take hella good care of my stuff but who knows what can happen with your hands since you use them all day? I could take a horrible fall and have my hand swell up to twice the size and then have to have my ring cut off. <--That happened to my grandma).  Anyway, I'd much rather spend the money on experiences or useful items or both.

So I had told Math, directly and indirectly, that I didn't want a diamond; that I'd be happy with a cubic zirconia or glass or a plastic bottle ring. OK, maybe not the last one b/c it would likely be too big, but you get my point right? I care about the ring for what it symbolizes not what it is materially. HOWEVER....Wonderful man that Math is...he did A TON of research and managed to find a sustainable, human diamond company called Ikuma by Ben Bridge that harvests (gathers?) their diamonds from Canada. They claim to have sustainable mining practices, innovative engineering and collaboration with indigenous communities. Now, obviously you can't be 100% certain without seeing it, but I'm confident that they are doing the best they can.

And I have to give Math kudos for doing all the research. He went to a lot of places and learned about and looked at a lot of diamonds. All things that show me what a sweet man he is...I mean, he's got to be dedicated to learn about jewelry. hehe!  And the diamond is especially sparkly! I'm convinced it's way more sparkly than Africa diamonds (probably b/c there's no blood in it to cloud it up. lol).

Also, I have to say that I am proud at him for his taste. He got me a magnificent .41 karat diamond in a gold band without breaking the bank. And since this blog is supposed to document my wedding planning journey, I will be completely candid about the price: about $1000.  Which is incredibly good taste on his part...Little Zoe will still get clothes and food and toys and we'll be able to keep our house and cars and save for the honeymoon! I guess the ring really does prove whether or not the guy's a keeper - And I'd definitely say HE IS!

Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for: The Ring!

To the Tune of "All Things Wedding"

Hello!

If you're reading this, then there's a good chance that you know me well (and if you don't, you'll probably learn more about ME in this blog than about wedding planning). You probably know that the second after I told Math "YES!!!", I had already started planning my wedding. Which is true.  To be perfectly honest, I'd already been planning my wedding, secretly and not-so-secretly for the last year (curse you Lauren and all the friends who've gotten married in the last two years and had beautiful weddings!).

There are some things that I knew for a certainty before this day.  Sometime between buying my bridesmaid's dress and Lauren's actual wedding, I got it into my head that Math and I would have chartreuse and plum as our wedding colours (can you guess who picked the harder-to-spell one?).  This we joked about, though for serious, I wasn't joking. There....cross that one off the list.

Chartreuse

Plum

Then you have Math who, in a rare, pre-engaged, moment of wedding whimsy, asked me what our First Dance song would be and I instantly answered "Elephant Gun" by Beirut which was what he was thinking too. So, there's another...check!

These things are not immediate-need wedding items (though, the colors would be important if you are like me and really want a very coordinated, matchy wedding!)  So when we got engaged, the first thing I did was push for Math to do two things: 1). Pick a date and 2). pick his groomsmen.  The first one wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, since all I wanted was for it to be warm when we got married. Math turned out to be the difficult one in this task. We both wanted late May - June at first but decided we'd be cool and family-y and ask my cousin George and his fiancee since they were engaged first. Also it's means a lot to me to have my family come out for this event. Since some of them haven't been out here in YEARS *coughcough*. ;-)

Since early-mid-late mid June was what they were thinking, we toyed with the idea of late June, June 30th 2012, to be exact. (This date also happens to be my friend Jenean's birthday who was one of my best friends in elementary school hehe). But Math didn't like the sound of 6/30/2012. I don't' know why and neither does he....oh men. ;-) Anyway, we started looking at other dates and I determined that May is too early and the weather is pretty unpredictable in Colorado in May. The next date that Math came up with was July 14, 2012 which is also France's Bastille Day. That just sounded too damn cool and since Math and I are both academics and history people in our own ways, it was perfect. And that's what we picked! Say it with me now: "July 14, 2012!" And, another one...check!

Fireworks on the Eiffel Tower for Bastille Day

Next, we started picking our respective parties and while I had them set up in a week, Math still hasn't picked his yet - nor has he narrowed down his list. Again, he's proving to be the more difficult one here...(Hmm...is this a trend developing? hah). I admire this trait b/c it means that he really loves all his friends and wants to include them all in his special day. However, i have to admit that I am a bit annoyed at the whole thing b/c I can't post the final lists until they are both finalized. So we can't check this one off yet...*sigh* Oh well...it's still be a productive 1st 2 weeks of engagement!

UPDATE 4/10/11 - Math still hasn't picked everyone and we might be adding another person to our parties which leaves me, now, with a picking dilemma too....oh men!