My China

When I was 12 years old, my nana died of breast cancer. She was a remarkable woman full of the kind of wisdom and love that only a nana can seem to have. I was young when she died and while I do have some memories of her, I don't have as many as I would like. The one thing that I always think of when I think of my nana, though, is how much she loved me. The love she had for all of her grandchildren just radiated out of her whenever she was around. She was the most wonderful grandmother I could have ever asked for. 

When she died, my nana left me her entire set of Royal Copenhagen china. Equally as wise as my nana, my mother packed each piece of the set carefully away, and put it in what we call The Way Back. She was saving the entire set for that special coming of age moment- my wedding. She knew I wasn't old enough to understand what it meant to have this set, and I am glad she waited until now to give it to me. It means so much more, and I am in love with the entire collection.

Lately I have started registering through Macy's for my wedding. I was really struggling with whether or not to register for china. It doesn't seem like many women my age do anymore, but I wanted a set to be able to have big family holiday dinners someday. When I mentioned this to my mom, she told me about the china my nana had left. I vaguely remembered it from Nana's house. I knew it was blue and white and well used, and I knew that a lot of the pieces had actually come from Denmark when my Uncle Pat was stationed there with my Aunt Doris (my nana's sister).

So we began the task of unpacking The Way Back. The Way Back is a space that my parents built in their house under their staircase. The home came with a closet under the tallest part of the stairs, but they wanted to use the space under all of the stairs. When they moved in, they broke through the wall and extended the closet to go all the way under the stairs. This extra space is what we call The Way back and it is dark and hot and stuffy. This is where my nana's china has rested for the last ten years. 

It was quite a task getting to the china. We had to move absolutely everything out of both the space under the stairs and The Way Back. Some of the tubs weigh over 50lbs and by the time we got to that tiny, stuffy place it was hot. Here is a time lapse video of how much we had to move to get to the china:

When we finally got the boxes out, three in total, I couldn't wait to see it. When I took that first piece out, I couldn't help but start to cry. I wish my nana was here to see how much I love every single piece of china. It is so beautiful, so delicate, and so unique. It's just perfect. Of course, my mom was there to capture that first moment:

                                     

I have never seen a more complete set of china. It has absolutely everything with it! I feel like I could have William and Kate over for dinner and not be left wanting for anything in my set! And, Royal Copenhagen is still in business and selling my collection, so if I do need to replace some pieces, I can! I am a lucky lucky girl to have always been surrounded by people who love me so much. My cup runneth over!

Invitation Font

Being somewhat of a graphic designer, I have been stressing about what font to use for our invitations. How will I ever find a font perfect enough for such a hugely important text?

Well- I think I found it! While Jason and I were in South Dakota this past weekend, we picked up the "Southeast South Dakota Travel Guide 2011". There on the cover, in the words Simply South Dakota I found my font.

When I got home on Monday, one of my first tasks was to call the graphic designer for the travel guide to see if she could give me some insight into the font I wanted. Thankfully, she knew the name of the font and was very willing to help. The bad part? The font costs $119!! Anyone know of a comparable replacement??

The font is called Dear Sarah Regular. I am in love with it! Here is how it looks:

The current and future Mrs. Clausens

This weekend while we were in Minnesota, Jason and I got to have lunch with his parents for Father's Day! It was the first time we had seen them since we got engaged, and there was so much to talk about! Jason snapped these pics of Me and Gwen (his mom) together during our visit. It was a really really happy time for us. We don't get to see them very often and it makes me sad that Gwen can't be here to share in all of the wedding planning. I was so pleased to have this moment together as her future daughter-in-law!

2011 Phoenix Bridal Expo

You've all heard the commercials. You know the one I am talking about. The one where the two girls talking are both getting married and one argues that she can't plan her whole wedding in one weekend? In case you can't recall, here is a link to the monumentally annoying commercial:

http://www.thevisionyard.com/blog/wedding-photographer-blog/2011/arizona-bridal-show-commercial-features-visionyard-photography/

Remember it now? Well, as annoying as it is, a girl probably could plan her whole wedding at the expo. Lucky for me, I am NOT one of those girls!

I had the most awesome time at the expo not so much because I got a lot planned, but more because I have wanted to go as a 'bride' forever. And, I had the very best company I could ask for: my mom and my sister-in-laws Megan and Laura. It was seriously so much fun to wander the aisles and see all the stuff people offer for weddings. Some of it was a little ridiculous, like the girls who wanted us to pay them to make a Facebook page for our wedding, but some of it was also really useful. Even though I didn't go with any of the photographers we saw there, I was able to use their information cards to determine what I wanted from my photographer, and what a reasonable price would be.

We also got to do a tasting for the catering company that is preferred in Las Sendas, so we will have to look into them for the rehearsal dinner. The food was super good.

We won some stuff too! All three of us got to spin the wheel at one of the dentist's booths and all three of us won free home teeth whitening kits! They were a $149 value each, and I really hope it works! I will probably use mine before our engagement pictures, so be sure to look out for my pearly whites!

When my mom registered for the expo, she won a $1000 giftcard to a jewelry company so we were able to get Jason's ring for only the cost of shipping! It came in the mail last week. Check out the "Rings" blogpost for pictures. Very cool!

I really think that what made it so fun for me was being there with my mom and my sisters. They made the whole day just awesome and it was so fun to get to just relax and spend time with them.

Me holding my 'bride' nametag outside the expo.

 The wheel and my prize! Free home whitening!

 Me and my sisters-in-law at lunch at Sam's Cafe in the Arizona Center after the Expo.

 One of the photo booths that gave us sample pictures at the expo. LOL, 

These pictures make me laugh every time I look at them!

 More photobooth. This is the company we ended up going with. They were half as much and the same amount of pics. The ones at the wedding with have 4 pics and Jason and my name at the bottom.

 Another photobooth. This one was ridiculously small and ridiculously priced.

 Poor Megan. You can't even see her!

Whats the hardest part of being a bride? Finding a dress! I went into this with a rough idea of what I wanted, but as I looked through magazines, some of the things I wanted appears on almost every dress! The one thing I couldn't find? STRAPS! What is it about wedding dresses that the designers don't want to put straps on them? I am getting married in a church. I think it is appropriate and respectful to have my back, chest and shoulders covered.

The first place we went to look for dresses was at Destiny's Bridal in the Borgata in Scottsdale. For the first day of dress shopping, it was just me and my momma. The Borgata is an really beautiful enclosed shopping center that is very classy and chic. This what it looks like:

                                           

I was a little worried the dresses here were going to be way out of my price range, but surprisingly they were right on the cusp. We worked with a very sweet girl here name Zoe who was from Chicago. We were literally the only people in the store with her, which made it really fun to try dresses on. It was like my own personal shop!

 The very first dress I tried on there was absolutely gorgeous. It would have been 'the dress' if I hadn't gone to any other places. It was slightly above what I was expecting to spend, but I figured I could sacrifice somewhere else in the wedding to make up for the cost. In the end, though, I ended up going with a different dress form the second store we went to, Lillian Lottie.

Lillian Lottie is a couture boutique located int he heart of Old Scottsdale. It is in an area know as the Fifth Avenue Shops, which is a street that looks like an old town main street. The store is owned by two girls who grew up together and named the store after their grandmothers, Lillian and Lottie. The owner, Meghan, worked personally with us that first day, and she really truly made me feel like I was the only bride in the entire world.

I tried on a ton of dresses here, but it was the last one that took my mom's breath away. That was how I knew I was wearing 'the one'. When I came out of the dressing room, my mom burst into tears, and so did I. It is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen, and it has all the things I wanted!

I don't want to post any pictures if the dress because I want it to stay a secret, but trust me, it is breathtaking!

At the end of that week, I took back my birdal party (minus Isabel and Amanda) to see the dress. Thankfully, they all loved it too! We are still trying to find bridesmaid dresses, but I hope we can do it through Lillian Lottie because I loved the experience I had there!

When we left the shop that second day, my mom gave them a deposit for my dress and it was officially ordered this week! It won't be here until November, and I can't wait!!

Me and my bridal party! From left to right: Megan (matron of honor), Laura (matron of honor), Me (bride!!), Lettice (bridesmaid). Amanda (bridesmaid) is in Brazil, and Isabel (maid of honor) wasn't able to make it. 

I just ordered my wedding dress!! Ahh!!

 Me and my mom outside Lillian Lottie

 Me and my mom again!

 Me and Meghan, one of the owners of Lillian Lottie, after I ordered my dress. 

The Rings

Something amazing happened this week- My mom won a $1000 giftcard to JVL Jewelry when she registered us for the Phoenix Bridal Expo! I was so worried about Jason's ring- not just how we were going to pay for it, but also about getting him to want to look at them. This made it so easy! I was able to send him the site, he picked what he wanted, and then he even let me measure him for his ring size. Because the giftcard was for so much, we ordered three different rings for him to try to see which one he likes the best We aren't sure what we're going to do with the two he doesn't like, but how cool it is to have options! i never would have gotten him into a store, so this worked out perfect for us. These are the three different rings we ordered. He likes the first one the best, but we'll see what he thinks once he tries them all on. I really like them all, so I will be happy if he is happy. :)

As for my ring, I thought I would include a picture of what it looked like form the place Jason ordered it from. I think its the best views of how it looks, and how the wedding band looks with it. I have been to a ton of wedding/bridal stuff the past few weeks. From tastings, tot he expo, to bridal shops, I have seen it all. I have yet to see a girl with a ring on her finger that I think is prettier than mine. Hee hee!

Nerd Alert!

I realize how totally nerdy this may be, but I really wanted to save all of the things people said on Facebook when we got engaged, so I went back to the posts and took screenshots of them. I guess its one of those things that comes with the times. This is the new form of engagement cards. This is the way people send their well-wishes and congratulations now. Someday, I know I will want to be able to see these again, and it will be too far back to go on Facebook. This is my way of keeping these memories.

Tasting

So one of the only bad things about having our reception at the TCA is that we have to use their vendor. I was really worried when I heard this that their vendor might not be good. What if we didn't have a choice, and then the food was horrible!? On June 7th, the caterer, Santa Barbera Catering, put on a tasting at the TCA so we could sample what their food is like.

I think the best part about this caterer is that they are willing to 100% customize a menu for the bride and groom and while they have a ton of suggested menus, they are willing to move and add things to make it just right. The next best thing is that all of the food for the reception will be made on site, not taken there from some other location. They have these huge trucks with ovens in them that they literally back up to the center and cook the food right there.

The downside of this caterer is that they are a little pricey in my opinion. Now, I don't really know how expensive this type of thing should cost, so that doesn't help, but some of the prices seemed a little ridiculous to me. With that being said, if this is the venue I want, we don't really have a choice in the price, and I will just have to try and save in other places to make up for spending a little more for the reception.

At the tasting, all of the food was amazing, except that both meat dishes were baked in alcohol. That will have to change for the reception. The staff was extremely helpful, and our rep with the company, Melissan, was very nice and willing to work with us and our budget. I think we have a menu set, and now its just a matter of signing the paperwork! I can't believe how this is all coming together!

Afternoon Tea at the Ritz

Part of the fun of being engaged are all the events around town that I get to be a part of for the first and only time in my life. One of these events was afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton in Phoenix.

My mom made reservations for this event, and I didn't really know what to expect. When we arrived, we valet parked the car, and the valet immediately asked if we were there for afternoon tea. They must really know their clientele! We were the first to arrive, and Jeffrey, the maitre'd offered us front row seats to the upcoming bridal fashion show. We got to  enjoy specialty teas, hors d'oeuvres, scones and dessert pastries. As we ate, we watched a vintage fashion show which included dresses from the 40s to the 90s. The models would stop and chat with us about their dresses and the jewelry they were wearing. One of the necklaces cost $25,000!

It was such a wonderful day with my mom. Its one of those things that I hope I get to tell my daughter about someday. It was something I got to do as a bride- one of those things I only get to do once!