Budget Woes.

With less than 10 months to go, things seem more real. With that reality check comes a harder look at our wedding budget.

While we're not planning on having a potluck, barefeet, backyard affair (although that would be awesome!), we are having this wedding on a rather strict budget. Considering that most weddings in America these days are enormously expensive (the average wedding cost is around $26,000!), we are pulling this off WAY below average. Even though we knew from the start that our wedding would be budget friendly, the best part is that when we hashed out what we wanted our wedding to be like, where we wanted it to be and what we wanted to do, we realized that it didn't need to cost us much anyways. It's not like we had our hearts set on a nice, all inclusive wedding venue and had to settle for less. Our original plan was for the state park, and that's where we're having it, and the best part is, it's free! (well, we have to pay the small entrance fee for guests, but it's minimal in comparison).

Everything so far seems good. Prices are fair, we have some awesome friends and family helping us out and we've found some great vendors that we're happy about. Whether or not we'll be able to pull off a lot of the small stuff depends on how much we can actually save outside of our 2nd year bonus. The bonus is what is essentially paying for the big stuff (tent rental, food, etc). But as you all know, there is much more to a wedding then chairs and a buffet.

Unlike most weddings, there is one aspect of our budget that is going to end up causing a lot of unnecessary anguish: the plane tickets home. Yes, for the bride and the groom, we're having a destination wedding. There's no wedding if we can't afford to fly home! I've been keeping an eye on the tickets since they became available 2 months ago. Things are not looking good. What frustrates me the most is this:

1. price for one, round-trip ticket from Korea-Maine-Korea:

The cheapest ticket to date has been $2000.00.

2. Now, observe the one, round-trip ticket from Maine-Korea-Maine:

 $1762.00! Now, that might not seem like a lot of difference, but this isn't the lowest price I've found. It has gone up and done from 1400-1800 for the past two months. If we just planned on going home for vacation and nothing else, then we could swallow an extra 600.00. But, we simply can't send aside more than 4000.00 just to get us home! It makes me so angry that tickets going in the other direction are ALWAYS cheaper than ones coming here. I know I need to just get over it, but it's unnerving nonetheless.

The tickets from Maine to Korea have been fluctuating a lot, while the ones from Korea have never gone below a certain amount. I know it's a LONG ways away, but I am a ticket-searching addict. We plan on buying our tickets early on since we need the rest of the money for the wedding, so we're looking at buy them around March. Here's to hoping #1 prices drop, or else we're not giving out favors, let alone flowers! hehe.

In my Free Time.

 As with most people who are addicted to the internet, I spend a “few minutes” every day checking in on various social sights, blogs and the like. Since getting engaged, the list of sights has grown tremendously.  The online wedding planning world is one of the most extensive internet research categories I’ve ever come across. I thought that the world travel sphere was huge, but weddings have taken the cake, literally. You can spend entire days reading blogs and checking out examples of every single wedding detail you can possibly imagine, including cakes:  cake toppers, cake cutting utensils, who cuts the cake, the pros and cons of cake face smashing, what flavors, what bakeries to use, which frosting is the best for whatever weather, what style will match your wedding attire, etc. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

Trying to keep it all in perspective is key when searching through the plethora of amazing online wedding sights. I have narrowed my search down to a few blogs that I have found the most useful and entertaining.

The first and foremost one is called Wedding Bee. For any bride (or groom for that matter) who has gotten married in the last few years, this site should be well known. The blog is updated dozens of  times a day by “bees”: recently engaged women, as well as recently married women who share their wedding planning journey with the rest of the universe. Their ideas and inspiration have led me to consider a lot of things about my wedding that I never would have thought of. The idea of our invitations comes from a crafty “bee” who blogged step by step picture instructions. Amazing. Along with blogposts about everything from what to get your bridesmaids, to the wording of your save-the-date to spa treatments, the site also has message boards where everyone can contribute and get answers.

If there are any girls out there with a ring on their finger, or hope to have a ring on their finger, or who just LOVE weddings, check out this sight. You won’t be disappointed. 

www.weddingbee.com

Progress.

Tonight we should be receiving the final draft of our save the dates from our friends, Claire and Kait. Tomorrow we have plans to go to old downtown here in Daejeon to print a test card. If everything looks good, this weekend will be go-time. We’re thrilled, envisioning cozy nights on the couch with some good music and perhaps a beer or two while cutting, stamping, writing and sealing. Of course, it might end up being more annoying than not, but we’ll stay optimistic until we start :). The goal is to mail them out from here no later than the following weekend. They should arrive in one big bundle to my mom’s house, and they she will mail them out locally from Maine. If all goes according to plan, people should receive them before Thanksgiving. That was what we hoped for, to avoid the holiday rush of mail. Fingers crossed we can get it all organized!

Less than 300 days to go!

Here is a quick list of the progress we’ve made in planning so far:

Dress: sending in measurements this weekend to Vietnam!

Officiate: my childhood priest has agreed to marry us :)

Ceremony location: church has been booked (months ago!)

Reception location: also booked (months ago)

Tent/tables/chairs: sending in deposit next month

Music: in contact with DJ, awaiting quote

Flowers: in contact with local farm, awaiting quote

Photographer: Thank goodness for awesome cousins!

Food: vendor confirmed and booked.

Cake: thank goodness for friends/bridesmaids!

Paper products: Save the dates almost done, invitations to come

Ceremony details: awaiting pamphlet from church in the mail

Ceremony musicians/readers: still need to coordinate

Honeymoon: home is our honeymoon! The real trip begins 3/1/2013 when we’re done in Korea. More on those exciting plans to come!

That’s all I can think of for now.

The sun is shining today, albeit cold. My fingers are numb from giving speaking tests in the freezing hallways. Because construction in Korea constitutes building from concrete and slabbing wallpaper directly over it, to say that there are mold problems here is an understatement. To try to keep mold growth at a minimum (and to "better your health"), schools keep most of the hallway windows wide open, even on the coldest of days. That's all well and good, except for me, the lonesome English waygook teacher who is stuck sitting in the hallways for the next two weeks of classes. sigh. Such is life here: you have to roll with the punches. Tomorrow I'm donning a hat and gloves :)

Home is Whenever I'm With You.

Happy 3 year anniversary to the most incredible person in my life. Through thick and thin, our friendship has spanned over 12 years, more than half of my life, and I can't wait to spend the rest of it with you. I love you Matt! <3

A Look Back: Thailand

In just shy of 80 days I will find myself back in the Southeast Asia of my college days. Besides Korea, this will be the first time I have ever revisited a place.

Maya Beach long tail  boat in the rain

I am excited to experience Thailand again, with a set of fresh eyes, eager to see how it’s changed, morphed, or (hopefully) stayed the same.

Thailand was the first Asian country I’ve traveled in. I spent the first 2 weeks and the last 2 weeks  of a 10 week Southeast Asia trip in Thailand, which I find appropriate. Thailand is comfortable, and despite liking other countries better (Laos in particular), Thailand is everything that you would want in an exotic Asian experience and then some. If you didn’t have time to visit more than one country in this region, I would wholeheartedly recommend Thailand without reservation.

Bangkok skyline at sunset

Thailand is covered in steamy, elephant dwelling jungle. It has amazing temple ruins from the early days, when it was called Siam. The flora and fauna is spectacular, especially in its national parks. The southern isthmus is blessed with some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Although tourism has perhaps ruined a lot of once-coveted places, you can still find your little slice of paradise if you search hard enough. The food is to die for (I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t love Thai food?), not to mention it’s ridiculously cheap. The fresh fruits will make you rethink your conception of what a fruit should really taste like (re: juicy pineapple pieces on a stick).

Railay Beach abseiling

They don’t call Thailand the land of a thousand smiles for nothing. The people are genuinely friendly (the majority anyways). Even if you find yourself being ripped off by a tuk-tuk driver after already agreeing on a set price, you will, minutes later, be laughing at the pah thai man as he grins at you with a toothless mouth while mixing your noodles with peanut sauce.  This is just how it goes. It’s such a laid back atmosphere you can’t help but go with the flow. This is what makes Thailand great.

Thee Lor Sue Falls

I was fortunate enough to experience a lot of the country back in 2006. I spent a lot of time in Bangkok, so much so that I grew to like the little area I was in (despite the rather negative opinions most travelers have for the giant city). I went trekking in the hills along the Burmese border, and met Burmese refugees fleeing their homeland for a better life. I spent 5 hours on the back of an elephant in thick jungle. I wandered through numerous night markets in Chiang Mai, an awesome city in the north. I biked around ancient temple complexes, and, at the end of my trip, experienced the gorgeous beaches of the southern coast.

So, I find myself extremely blessed to have a chance to go back. After a whirlwind week in Vietnam with my mom, we will take a short flight to Bangkok and, after meeting up with Matt, will continue down to the southern coast to enjoy the beach for another week. I can’t wait to share this experience with the two people I love the most!

We've got STDs, People.

No. We have not contracted some horrible disease! We have (almost) finalized our Save-the-dates. Yes, it's probably one of the worst wedding acronyms ever (and there are plenty), but it is what it is.

Yesterday afternoon we met with our South African friends, Claire and Kait (ridiculously creative sisters) and hashed out a plan. They showed us what they've come up with, and besides a few minor adjustments, we were really pleased with their ideas. While they designed a 100% digital card, Matt and I wanted to be a bit more crafty with some parts of it, so we're combining the two. They're designing the basic fonts, layout and colors and we're adding a few more scrapbooky details. We can't wait to put it all together!

After the brainstorming session Matt and I headed out to old downtown in Daejeon to one of our favorite stationary shops to by a paper cutter and some supplies.  It's real now! We have something to look at, work with, rearrange, print, cut, paste and process. We're super excited to get this all going!

Our goal is to send them out before the holiday rush, so we plan on mailing them home to my mom no later than mid-November. Then she will send them out from there. 

On another front, I'll be sending my dress measurements in in just TWO weeks! Although I am not at my goal weight, I'm confident that adjustments can be made when I go to try it on and also when I go home to Maine. I'm not worried, just anxious! It's crazy how someone in Vietnam is going to start making my dress in just a few short weeks!

To come: more on fitness (which I'm determined to increase!), healthy eating and the 12 week push to our SouthEast Asian adventure!

Crisp Air

Ahhhhhh. What a beautiful fall Monday morning in Daejeon, Korea. The sun is shining, the leaves are turning (finally), and there's not a hint of humidity anywhere to be found. Now if only we didn't have to work!

But thankfully I am in a good mood. I always feel like Monday can be one of two things (never any gray): horribly depressing or surprisingly do-able. You either enter the workweek desperately trying to grasp onto the previous weekend or content to let a new week begin. Today I feel the latter. I am excited to travel to Busan this coming weekend. We're going to take the train down early on Saturday, visit an ocean side temple, and then watch am amazing fireworks display over a bridge in Busan harbor that night. Sunday is a free day. Maybe we'll go to the fish market, or explore another beach or go on a small hike. This small (anniversary) weekend getaway makes me excited to get this week over with. The amazing weather this morning helps the good mood along!

The Ring

Sometimes I can't believe that we've already been engaged for almost 9 months and that I've been wearing this ring for that long:

I remember being entranced with how sparkly it was in the very beginning. I couldn't take my eyes off of it! Of course I still stare at it from time to time, especially when it does gather and reflect the light. I love this ring because it's small, delicate, and fits perfectly with my personality. It's simple and doesn't look ridiculous on my small, chubby finger.
   

 One of my favorite parts of the ring is the small inscription on the inside:
 

forever and always

E-PICS!

Toby was able to finish going through the pictures earlier than expected, and we got the pictures back last night! It was super exciting!

Matt actually got to look at the 35 edited pictures that Toby chose to work on before I could. Toby emailed them to Matt, and so when I got home from work Matt had a surprise to show me! It was really sweet to go through them together.

Here are a few of my personal favorites. Some have been edited while others are in their raw format. We are REALLY pleased with how they turned out!

At the entrance to one of our favorite temples: Gapsa

Looking out over our city (Daejeon)

At Gapsa Temple

Cute, eh?

I really like the colors in this picture

At Hanbat Botanical Gardens

Lotus pond

I love you/ Sa-rang Hae (Korean)

Thanks again to Toby (and Soyeon!) for the amazing shots, and for taking time out of their weekend to accommodate us, two days in a row!

Sneak Peek: PAPER

No, it's not an engagement shoot sneak peek, although that would be fantastic! I have never been so anxious to see pictures in my entire life! It was the first time I've ever been photographed semi-professionally. I mean, how often do you have a legit photo-shoot, especially one where you don't get to see the pictures automatically when you're done? I am going nuts! I suppose I am guilty as charged as being one with my generation: needing instant gratification.

Instead of a snapshot or two of our amazing photo shoots (yes, we did TWO!), I have a picture of a package that came to my school today from my mom:

Exciting, HUH?! This is the background color of the save-the-dates, as well as the envelopes. This color is the closest blue I could find to what I was going for, and Matt and I are both really happy with it.

As if we didn't already have awesome friends in Korea (re: Toby, our photographer for the engagement shoot), our South African friend Claire is a graphic designer and is putting together a design for our save-the-dates! We're meeting with her and her sister (who is also a designer) this coming weekend to see what ideas they've come up with. While Matt and I had a good idea of what we wanted, these girls know the programs and have the creative, designer flare that we need to make them look more professional. If not for them, our save-the-dates would have looked rather elementary. Thank goodness for talented friends!

So things are looking REALLY good in the stationary department. After months (seriously) of talking about these darn things, we're finally getting them off the ground. Paper is here, envelopes are here, pictures have been taken (we'll be using one from the shoot in our save-the-dates) and the design will soon be finalized. Awesome!

It feels incredibly good to get going on the actual nit and grit of wedding planning. You can only make so many lists, draw so many sketches, calculate so many numbers on so many excel spreadsheets before you just want to explode with frustration. Let's just get this show on the road already! Next week we should have an ACTUAL save-the-date that we'll get printed, with hopes of getting them off and mailed before November. Here's to wishing!

Another awesome thing: our 3 year anniversary is 2 weeks from today! 

Engagement Photo Shoot!

Today is the day. Our friend, Tobi, has graciously agreed to photograph us for our engagement pictures. Although I am super excited, I'm a little nervous as well. What if we don't look romantic? What if it's super awkward? Matt and I are very close, but we don't normally show it in public, let alone in front of friends! We're hoping that after a few shots we'll relax into it. Fingers crossed!


Tobi, who is an amataur photographer, will take a variety of pictures using his digital DSLR, as well as his new (to him) 1950's medium film camera. We're really excited to get some actual film prints, especially from someone who is going to develop them himself! The camera is one of those ones you look down into from the top, how cool is that?!

Last night we went shoe shopping for me and found a nice pair of slacks for Matt, which completes our outfits for the day. Who knew there was this much work involved?

Can my tomboy self pull off a dress and heels? Only one way to find out!

While most of the prints won't be available for a while, when Tobi gives us a few samplers I will make sure to post ASAP! :)

Post Hike

So, 5 minutes before we were about to leave our apartment to catch a train to Seoul, I got an email: "Sorry everyone, the shelter is being renovated and is closed. We can't stay there during the hike. You will all have to complete the entire two-day hike in 14 hours."

AWESOME.

The reason why we decided to do this crazy hike was because we would be stopping early on the first day at a shelter where we could take a much needed nap, relax, play games, enjoy the scenery, etc. Instead, we'd have to endure one of Korea's most arduous treks all in one day, on little sleep. Zero sleep for me, actually.


Well, we did it. Now I am in a TON of pain, probably more pain in my legs than I have ever had. But, I'm recovering and hopefully within the next week will be fully functioning again!