2011 Year in Review

December 17, 2011

Wasn’t it just 2010?

As we close in on 2012 (I know, what?!), I figured a Year in Review post was due to keep our little blog here active and interesting. PLUS, I finally updated the WEDDING PHOTOS section of the site, so you can easily browse some favorite pics of ours from the Big Day. Even though 2011 flew by, we did actually have an eventful year… weddings, vacations, career news, personal achievements and some great memories. I’ll let Rick start off with his review…

2011 opened with Dawn and I going on our honeymoon in Jamaica two months removed from our wedding in November. I was dealing with some health concerns that led meto have some rather unpleasant tests done in February. The end result was the realization that I
had to make a number of lifestyle changes to improve my fitness level and overall health. I had lost a little weight by the beginning of March, but I decided to join a Weight Watchers at work group just to give it a try. In May, the first ten weeks were over and I had lost 23 pounds. The group remained in tact for another ten weeks. By June, I had lost another 20 pounds and had been released from my contract position with Johnson and Johnson. I found out very suddenly when Dawn and returned from my cousin’s wedding in Washington D.C. However, I remained on the program and while looking for work in a barren job market, by October I had lost 65 pounds on the year, almost all it while following Weight Watchers. I was exercising five days a week and even had dabbled in an old man’s indoor soccer league. In November Dawn and I celebrated our first anniversary, it was interesting to reflect on all the things that we already gone one during the course of the year.

Later in November came Thanksgiving, for the Sando, this was the nexus of the family year. The first time Dawn got to see the Sando Thanksgiving was the year my uncle Ralph died. That year one of the older Sando family traditions, the Pumpkin Pie Feeling was suspended due to the terrible loss. This year however, Dawn got to see this spectacle in all its glory. When I was in eighth grade I had to write a paper on a family tradition. I wrote about the Sando Thanksgiving as my topic, it came as no surprise that my classmates didn’t believe me. Now, we have web video as proof.

Our dog April is a blessing, a great companion and as good natured an animal as you could ever want to meet, when she isn’t jumping out of first floor windows – and no that’s not a joke as Dawn can attest. As Christmas looms in the distance, it has been an up and down year of many changes, some good and some not so good. Dawn and I are looking for good luck in the New Year and wish everyone else the same.

I’m very proud of Rick, tackling his weight loss in just about 8 months. The ongoing joke is that he isn’t handing marriage correctly– you’re supposed to let yourself go after you get married, not let SIXTY-FIVE pounds go! Ah well, we never did go by the book anyway, heh.

As for travel and vacations, we kicked off the year the right way with a honeymoon to Jamaica, as Rick mentioned. It was nothing short of AWESOME… the resort was beautiful, the service & food perfect, and the friends we made we still keep in touch with today! You can read more about the honeymoon in THIS POST if you wish.

Although you cannot really top a honeymoon, our trips to Cleveland, OH for my cousin Maria’s wedding in May, and closely followed by Andrew & Kelly Sando’s wedding in Washington DC, were both great weekend vacations and full of interesting side-trips like an Indians game complete with a fireworks show, and a stroll to the White House. An added bonus for myself was a trip to Las Vegas for my employer J&J Snack Foods’ 40th Anniversary party and corporate meeting weekend. Part of the trip included a free activity we could select, and I opted for horseback riding in Red Rock Canyon! Our CEO Gerry definitely pulled out all the stops for this one.

Beyond these types of vacations and trips, I have kept busy with my comic strip Zorphbert and Fred, now updating 3 times a week and boasting 2 volumes in the online store. I did about 10 conventions and events this year, selling both my comics and my kids book series, and traveling to Chicago,  New York, Baltimore, DC and many smaller places around Philly. The kids book series which I illustrate, called Abby’s Adventures, came out with a fourth book this year– “Christmas Carol… and Little Miss Scrooge”!

I probably won’t be able to recall every single event or occurrence this past year, but beyond the trips and personal endeavors, I am also excited about my sister Marybeth being engaged to her boyfriend/fiance Paul. As Rick mentioned, the economy isn’t helping his unemployment but we remain optimistic that the right position will open up soon. Our dog April is doing well, and we are convinced she is the best and most well-behaved dog on the planet (aside from the previously mentioned window-jumping incident where she bust through the screen and tumbled through the front hedges to get to us… the fuzzy idiot). I witnessed my first true “Sando Pumpkin Pie Feeling” this Thanksgiving, and I’m still not 100% sure I understand it– only that you “just go with it”, which is probably the Sando Motto, LOL. All in all, an eventful blur of a year.

Thanks for reading, and Rick and I would like to wish you and yours a warm, safe & happy Christmas/Holiday, and a wonderful New Year! Don’t forget to take a cruise through the WEDDING PHOTOS!

removed from out wedding in November. I was dealing with some health concerns that led me
to have some rather unpleasant test done in February. The end result was the realization that
I had to make a number of lifestyle changes to improve my fitness level and overall health. I
had lost a little weight by the beginning of March, but I decided to join a Weight Watchers at
work group just to give it a try. In May, the first ten week were over and I had lost 23 pounds.
The group remained in tact for another ten weeks. By June, I had lost another 20 pounds and
been released from my contract position with Johnson and Johnson. I remained on the program
and while looking for work in a barren job market, by October I had lost 65 pounds on the year,
almost all it while following Weight Watchers. I was exercising five days a week and even had
dabbled in an old man’s indoor soccer league. In November Dawn and I celebrated our first
anniversary. As Christmas looms in the distance, it has been a year of many changes, so good
and some not so good. Dawn and I are looking for good luck in the New Year and wish everyone
else the same.
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Honeymoon in Jamaica!

February 3, 2011

What a difference between Philly and Jamaica, right now. We left 20 degree temps, and got off the plane into 80+ degrees and beautiful weather. Even when it rained it was beautiful. And it does seem to rain almost every day.. just a little.. in Jamaica. Rick and I stayed at the Jewel Resort near Dunn’s River Falls. Not that we have any point of reference, it being our first time at a resort, but it was FANTASTIC. The food was good, the staff was friendly and fun, the room was perfect, and we even got bumped up to “ocean view” upon arrival. They bring the newcomers rum punch as you wait in the lobby to get your key. The bartenders are a fun bunch, and will go out of their way to do things like bring your favorite drink to you in the hot tub, or suggest fun new drinks to try (like the “Jamaican Smile”). I know I said the food was good, but I have to explain that further. The common element to the restaurants at the Jewel is you get to choose an appetizer, a salad, a soup, an entree and a dessert at each place. And the portions are so perfect, this is actually not as much food as it sounds. Just a taste of everything. The breakfast buffet has every breakfast food you could wish for, plus some Jamaican specialties to try out! Seriously, a wonderful resort. Seriously.

Okay, now that I yammered on about that.. on to what we did… yknow, besides eat and drink. We were there for 5 days and 6 nights, and we did want to take 2 days to just RELAX and soak up the sun. But soon after we were wanting to actually go out and SEE some of Jamaica. So, we did 2 trips to touristy places… maybe in the future we can look of the beaten path, but as newbies it’s best to see the big landmarks. We took one morning/afternoon and went to Dolphin Cove, where we saw a shark show, went kayaking, took a quick boat tour of the coastline, met Elvis the Iguana, and watch the Dolphins goof around with the lucky few who got to swim with them. It was an amusing little trip filled with tidbits of everything.

The next day we took on the infamous Dunn’s River Falls. There are many different kind of trips you can take to see the Falls, but we chose the Catamaran Party Boat, under the name of Cool Runnings. This entailed a snorkeling trip, a stop at the falls to climb to the top, and then the boat bar opens and rum punch flows while the staff get everyone to dance (except me, of course, everyone knows I don’t dance.) The highlight of the trip for me was climbing the falls. It’s a bit intimidating at first, but once you start to trust your aquashoes’ stability on the rocks… even with rushing water… you gain confidence and it becomes fun. The guides gather a group of twenty or so people, and lead everyone up, hand-in-hand in a human chain, with stops along the way to take pictures or to slide down a “water slide” into a pool of water. I could not bring my camera as it’s not waterproof, so all I have to share is “borrowed” pictures I found online.

To top off the trip, we even made some good friends we hope to keep in touch with… and maybe even team up to do this again next year! Malcolm and Amber are from Washington DC, and we hit it off like we were old friends. One of those “instant connections” you hear about. During the span of the trip, we found ourselves striking up good conversations over drinks or shooting pool with other couples from DC, Boston, NY, and upstate NY as well. Everyone just seemed to be open and friendly.

It was a wonderful honeymoon, and what a SHOCK to come home to 15″ of snow when we returned to Philly. Brrrrrr. At least our wonderful neighbors had our walk and stoop all shoveled for us. Like you want to shovel your way back INTO your house with 4 bags of luggage.

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Whew! What a day!

November 19, 2010

Greetings everyone! It took a little time to fully realize it, but we did in fact get married and enjoyed every second (that we can remember) of our big day! Now we just have to get used to calling each other “husband” and “wife”… we may stick to “Dawn” and “Rick” for a while and ease ourselves in.

Rick and I want to sincerely thank each and every one of our lovely, fun, “excitable”, and gracious guests who could attend. We felt truly blessed to be able to bring all the families together for one day to celebrate our partnership and continued life together. Some traveled great distances, even half way around the world, to be there… we felt so lucky to see everyone. Thank you notes are in the mail, and we cannot express our gratitude for all the generous gifts. There are so many home repairs that can finally be completed, and we are just ecstatic!

Weddings are such a blur. It’s SO much planning for one day, and all those little stressed-over details are barely even noticed by the overwhelmed Bride and Groom, in the midst of the hectic day. We can only hope everyone appreciated the special touches and enjoyed all the extras we had worked in: like the photo booth, slideshow, hot apple cider & (amazing) cupcakes! So, before this hectic day truly becomes a blur forever, here are our separate Wedding Recaps…

The Bride:

Wow, I really was a “bride”, huh? I think I pulled that off fairly well. I was amazed I could even get to sleep the night before, but I have good friends Pete & Jenn to thank for that. The night prior, they took us out for a fantastic Greek dinner at Kanela in Philly, followed by one of the best comedy shows I have ever seen: Louis CK at the Academy of Music! We were too busy laughing our collective butts off to worry about the impending wedding. That was such a terrific gift.. the gift of SANITY.

The morning of the wedding was planned out so well, it was busy without being hectic. When the Griffin Clan and I finally arrived at the mansion, our coordinator Lex was hard at work with her crew and our vision for the ballroom had taken shape already. Once the slideshow was set up thanks to me and my techie mother Martha, I was shooed to the “Bridal Chambers” (which I still find to be a quite misleading name, eek). Luckily, there was beer waiting inside.

Once all of the wedding party arrived, we had our quick rehearsal for the simple ceremony, beers in hand. Then, 6 sweatpants-and-hoodie-clad girls and 2 mothers frantically transformed into some of the most dazzling women I have ever seen! Myself included! In all this flurry the photographer Chrissy arrived, as well as our Officiant Natalie, and THEN I started to get nervous. We could see guests for the ceremony being seated at the ceremony site from the old rustic doors of the bridal chamber, and the bridesmaids and mothers dashed out of the room and I was left with my dad, Denny. With the cue of our photographer, we began to walk… to Wilco’s “California Stars” on guitar by our neighbor & friend Dennis Selfridge. The next thing I remember is the readings our mothers gave at the ceremony. Between that, who knows, but I am pretty sure I made it without tripping/falling/breaking something. My mom read “Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Suess and Rae read a beautiful poem she selected entitled “True Love”. Then, the vows, and rings (Rick had an exceptionally hard time getting mine on, which made me laugh). And it was over! WHEW. We hugged family and friends and I started to realize it was COLD outside. Amazing how nerves tend to block out the temperature sensors. Family & wedding poses and the chaos of organizing some very cold guests ensued, and then everyone dashed off to the cocktail hour to sip hot apple cider and warm up. Rick and I enjoyed some quiet moments with Chrissy, strolling around the beautiful park grounds, fountains and gardens.

In a flash, the parents and Rick and I were being introduced to the reception. This is another moment that terrified me.. both the introduction and first dance, all eyes on us, and the fact that I am no dancer doesn’t help. We did take dancing lessons, learned some simple ballroom basics, and from what I have heard we looked pretty good too!  We danced to “Sweet Avenue” by Jets to Brazil… a meaningful song by a band that was an icebreaker for Rick and I when me “met” online. My dad and I danced to Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”, which was sweet but surreal: I have never danced with my dad, and must have inherited that “non-dancer” gene from him. Rick and Rae danced to “In My Life”, by The Beatles… a favorite band for the both of them. Toasts followed, by both the fathers: “Facebook Status” jokes, fatherly advice, and a summary of my artistic endeavors over the years. There is a funny story regarding the toasts- apparently my dad shortened his toast at the last minute to keep things brief… and the toast Rick Sr. gave was almost word-for-word the paragraph my dad took out! Amazing how things work out.

The reception was 4 hours, but it felt like an hour at the max. Giampino’s supplied the food, which was excellent, as we knew it would be. The Eggplant Parmesan in particular was raved about. The hot apple cider (a special recipe by my mom, a Griffin tradition at Halloween!) was a hit. The photo booth area, complete with halloween props & hats, was hoppin’, and the Ken, the DJ, was playing the perfect combo of upbeat fresh tunes from all decades. Somewhere in there we cut the cake, and the gourmet cupcakes were flying off the tiers. The funniest moments were when things were “going wrong”: the tissue paper “pom-poms/poofs” started falling from the ceiling and guests made them into hats and other assorted props for the photo bo oth! During House of Pain’s “Jump”, a tall guest accidentally unplugged the strand of lights above the dance floor, and after an audible spark, they all went out! These are the things the end up being the story-to-tell about our wedding, I was so happy we have innovative family and friends to “go with the flow”!

Then, Wilco’s “What Light” played and Rick and I finally danced.. to close out the evening. (That was right after an exceptionally frantic dance with Rick’s cousin Blake.. a masterful dancer who’s so good, he could even make ME dance!) All in all, despite the fact that I wished it was longer, the wedding was beautiful and 99.9% of it went smoothly. I really could not have asked for more. What a day, what a great family I have entered into, and what a wonderful husband (!!!!) I have!

The Groom:

Dawn and I were engaged for two years. For the first year the wedding seems eons away. Once you hit the one year mark, time starts to pass by faster and faster, gaining momentum, like a boulder rolling downhill. We got a lot of things done early, then hit that odd lull when you can’t start really taking care of things until you get closer to the date. We had a lot of help and support, and also challenged people’s perceptions of what a wedding could and should be. My bachelor party was fun, my cousin Blake came up from Miami which was a great, unexpected treat. It also served as an example of what the wedding day would be. Fun, and chaotic. The week leading up to the wedding was pensive at best. I definitely struggled to sleep and had fits of nerves. Nothing that made me second guess my decisions, just general anxiety about all the moving parts that had to fit together for the day to come together as we intended. My concerns weren’t helped by finding out that the venue where we were going to have the after party had been closed for a week due to a burst pipe. If I hadn’t called, we wouldn’t have known, they never notified us. Thankfully, a different venue had an open private room. Also, the mansion had a strict rule we only found out about 3 weeks prior: nothing is allowed to be left at the mansion overnight. Which meant we had to rent a U-Haul to pack the rental supplies in after the wedding, to store until they could be picked up.

The morning of I was up early and got my self ready and all my supplies gathered. I had to drop off my car at the hotel where Dawn and I stayed after the wedding. Then my friend Chris and I picked up a U-Haul and went to the park. Well really, we circled the park like vultures not able to find an open entrance. When we did find out way, I hung out for a little while before getting dressed. Once, dressed I was waiting to do our prep walk through, which was delayed. It was a lot of waiting, waiting waiting. I don’t I really knew it was about to happen until our mothers came down together followed by the wedding music. The ceremony was short and sweet and I did have to focus not to cry while saying my vows to Dawn. After the ceremony was over and the formal posed shots were done, Dawn and I were left to walk around the Mansion with our photographer doing couples shots in the Autumn chill. By the time we got back to the bridal chamber we were both pretty cold. We had a little while to warm up before being introduced with our parents.

Dawn and I did our dance and for the most part remembered our dance steps. Dawn then danced with her Dad as I did with my mom. After that we sat down and ate dinner. The photo booth opened for candids and we did the first round with our Garfield Ave. neighbors. From this point it’s a blur of faces. There were many people I didn’t get to talk to, dance with or take a picture with. I guess that’s the way it goes. The reception was a hurricane, it had it’s own shape and direction. All the people there, including Dawn and I, had their own experience of the night. In a way, that’s what I like best. The night was our creation and when the time came we let it go and it became what everyone made of it for themselves. Our vision had been completed. The experience was what it was to each guest. Free, unconstrained and natural, as joy and happiness should be.

-RFS-

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Some F.A.Q.’s

November 1, 2010

Hello friends and family!

With only a couple more days to go until the big day, we wanted to fill everyone in on some questions that have arose.

1. Here is the breakdown of the day:

2:00pm Private Ceremony
4:00pm Cocktail Hour
5:00pm-9:00pm Reception

2. We are having a short private ceremony at 2pm, due to size restraints for the area and our own personal preferences. Please review your invitation to see which time you should arrive. If your invitation lists 4pm as your arrival time, and you have to arrive at 2pm due to transportation arrangements, we will do our best to accommodate you!

3. The mansion, being state property and a historical building, requires all guests to leave by 9pm. We understand some groups may want to extend the festivities! If you want to arrange an after-party with other guests, please see our “Accommodations” page for some suggestions of restaurants and bars!

4. Due to size limitations, we could not invite children under the age of 18, with a few exceptions for very close family. We hope you understand, and can find suitable arrangements for your children. If that is not possible, we will do our best to accommodate.

Thanks, and we cannot wait to celebrate with everyone!

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The Countdown Begins

October 7, 2010

Ramblings by Dawn:

We’re officially under a month now. I keep saying “eek!” but honestly I do not feel all that freaked out. Maybe it hasn’t hit me yet, or maybe having the help of a coordinator and handling a lot of the design myself has me confident all will get done. Plus, I keep telling myself: even if something goes wrong the day of (and something WILL), it’ll all work out. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? The caterer doesn’t show? The DJ plays “Hokey Pokey”? There’s an all-out war between the bridemaids? We lose the rings? Some klutz trips and falls and breaks something (I am referring to myself here)? ooookay, NOW I am freaking myself out. I digress.

I’ll openly admit, planning a wedding.. or any big party.. where I (we) are the focus has me completely out of my element. I am most comfortable helping others with their big party, behind a camera, and out of the way. The spotlight terrifies me, always has. All-eyes-on-me situations are my biggest fear. I kept ruining my A-average in high school English class because of the one annual presentation I had to give… I shook so much it affected my voice and teachers would have to give me a “C”. I am definitely not one to enjoy being center of attention. I am hoping our wedding will not be like that. Maybe I can relax and lose myself in the chaos. I can say, I am confident what we have planned will be a hit, and guests will have a blast.. I would just love to stand back and watch all the fun to be had.

That, coupled with the fact that I am pretty much a tomboy at heart and never envisioned my wedding as a kid, really makes this whole experience surreal for me. Picturing myself in most wedding traditions seemed really odd to me. I’m not a big shopper, so the idea of trying on 100’s of bridal gowns was not my idea of “fun”. Tossing the bouquet seems archaic. And if Rick tries to carry me over any kind of “threshold” (whatever the heck that is), I may take him out, LOL. But I found the answer to planning OUR wedding was to take the traditions we wanted to incorporate and putting our own spin on it. And I also took some wise advice from my favorite alternative wedding site “Offbeat Bride”:

“I’m here to tell you that, YES: everything you want to do for your wedding is tacky. All of it. The red dress is tacky. The handmade paper flowers are tacky. Your custom-designed invitations? TACKY. I’m sick of people asking if some component of their wedding is tacky. (Sure it is! …to someone. Do you care? Is that why you’re doing it?). Tacky is the manifestation of your fears that people won’t approve of your wedding.“

Speaking of, I discovered that on Offbeat Bride, some other couples got married at our venue too- Ridley Creek Mansion! Now, these are some VERY different weddings… makes what we have planned look downright textbook, ha! As a prelude to our own wedding, click the pictures below to read about their wedding and see some pictures of the venue!:

Less than a month! We are busy, excited, exhausted, prepared, and READY TO PARTY!


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Our Big Fat Greek Wedding Shower

July 18, 2010

Add “Hot” (95 degrees!) in there too while you’re at it. But, at least not “Rainy”, as it had been looking in the previous days. Our “honeymoon-themed” shower on July 17th was wonderful and we both enjoyed it. We are so grateful for the company, generosity, efforts, and love from our families and friends. We hope you enjoy these pictures!

Notes from Dawn:

First you pray it doesn’t rain, and then you’d be friggin’ happy for a cool shower to kill the heatwave. Hmm, that was pun-tastic! And we did get a cool shower after all, Rick and I had a blast. Honestly, it was a blur… of family & friends we wished we could have chatted with more and food that was scarfed more than savored, but I guess that’s just a good preparation for the upcoming wedding itself! My parents definitely kept us in mind for the shower.. our love of greek food (and maybe the movie referenced in the title above), our upcoming honeymoon, even an old favorite childhood snack of mine (seasoned oyster crackers)! The decor was very fitting for the temperatures, and everyone in their best Hawaiian shirts made us one heckuva colorful group. Couldn’t miss THIS party, LOL! The kids jamming on the steel drums was fun for all, and cake was delicious as well. Have to say we were very impressed, mom and dad!

We truly appreciated everyone’s presence as well as their generous gifts and donations for our honeymoon. A special thanks to those who took time out of their lives help decorate, serve, clean up, move tents and tables and take pictures (Mom & Dad, Beth, Sarah, Mary, Lou and Lori, you guys are the best). Rick and I appreciate more every day the best gift of all: family togetherness, and close friends whom you could call family!

Notes from Rick:

The wedding shower went off without a hitch. Despite the stifling heat and traffic delaying our arrival, it was a great party. The Griffin home looked great all decked out in tropical decorations, complete with steel drums. It was great to see those friends and relatives of ours that were able to make the trip. The layout of Greek food was excellent, the only thing that could have topped it was a gyro station or a pig roasting on spit (a la “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”!), though that would have probably traumatized the kids. It went by so fast it didn’t seem like Dawn and I had that much time to talk and eat before we were opening gifts. We received many generous gifts that will go to use around the house or help us plan our honeymoon early next year. We’d like thank everyone who helped put the party together for all their hard work. Especially Dawn’s parents Martha and Dennis who were gracious hosts as well as Lori, Mary and Lou, our photographer. Dawn and I had a good time and we’re pretty sure that everyone else did too. I know Dawn and I will remember the day fondly and I think many of the guests will too. Hopefully the wedding shower will serve as a omen of good things to come as we approach the three month deadline to the big day.

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First Day of School

July 12, 2010

It was a long drought. Around 2pm on June 29,2010 Kelly Engineering Services called me back and offered me a contract position with McNeil Pharmaceuticals, now a part of Johnson and Johnson. Kathy Salazar, the woman who interviewed me in late March contacted the recruiter I had spoken to and said that the position was available again and if I was still available. I didn’t have to go in for a second interview, I had to go to a Kelly office and fill out paperwork and then I started at McNeil on today July 12, 2010. The terms of the contract have not changed, I get the same hourly rate I was offered before which is more than I was getting at my old job. The recruiter said there are some good concessions in the contract regarding benefits and vacation time. So think good thoughts as my long drought comes to a merciful end.

I am working with a small team that is made entirely of woman, aside from myself. It’s design related job but no design work actually gets done by us. It was a quite day, not much for me to do. I did a lot of reading, job aides and such. Everyone was very nice to me when I was being introduced around. The facility is huge, even the cafeteria is cavernous and features fresh food prepared on site daily and a fitness center I have yet to see. There is another person coming in next week as well, in the wake of two tough product recalls, the group I am working for is expecting a lot of work – a chance to raise our profile. There are little lounges scattered throughout the building and more hand sanitizer dispenser than you can shake a stick at, take that swine flu!

I still have a ton to learn and getting back into the routine of working life is going to take a little time. Either way it’s the best job that I was contacted about, it was the job I was most interested in and the job that best matched my previous work experience and best my my needs. I am a contractor and that does bring a certain degree of uncertainty. I could be brought on permanently, or I could be let go with little notice. The way I see it, it’s a no lose. If I get brought on permanently, great. If not, I have some more recent work experience to put on my resume and I made some money with the wedding looming in the not too distant future.

-R-

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Seriously? Only 6 months left? *blinks*

May 7, 2010

People tell me (over and over) that I won’t believe how fast the year of wedding planning will go by. Well, I feel like I JUST wrote the 1-year mark blog post. POOF, six months. *waves*

SO. At 6 months we have basically laid out all the groundwork, reserved the date with the caterer, DJ, event rental store, photographer, and decided what the heck we’re going to wear. According to most wedding planning scheduling tools, we’re are right on time, if not ahead of ourselves. But that’s Rick and I, anyway.. we’re not “slackers” by any means, and if we start to procrastinate even a tad, we both freak out about it, LOL. Lex (a.k.a. Alexia) has come through for so many creative ideas and ways to save money, it blows my mind. The woman has connections! Her husband, Jim, is now helping Rick and I with health and weight loss goals… as a nutritionist and fitness trainer, he’s a plethora of information… even for a thyroid patient like myself. I told them they need to team up and do weddings more often: Lex coordinates and decorates, and Jim whips the couple into “wedding shape”. I think it’s brilliant. After all, what ads suddenly appeared on my facebook account as soon as I changed my status to “engaged”? That’s right– “Fat Bride? Lose Weight NOW!” Classy.

Now we’re on to the little details… the ones that make you wonder, “Do guests REALLY notice these things? Is the wedding “ruined” if these details aren’t PERFECT?” I think the key is to tackle the details you feel strongly about and let the rest fall into place. The most fun I have had thus far is the invitations. Being a designer, of COURSE I have to design these suckers myself. Not that it saves a ton of money.. I still have to buy paper, and envelopes, and postage, and the RSVP kit. Plus, print them all myself! It probably amounts to same total someone would pay for pre-designed invites. However, I am pretty proud of the result. I hope it’s a piece I will always look back on and appreciate… we designers tend to completely loathe work we did, oh, 2 years ago.

I have learned a LOT about wedding traditions and etiquette and why they were set in place long, long ago. Sometimes there are traditions that are such staples at weddings, no one even knows what they signify or why they were conjured up in the first place. We decided to pick and chose the traditions that worked for us, and found creative ways to spruce up or alter other traditions to be more fitting. I hope the end result is just as much fun for everyone who attends!

I am pretty much exhausted, though.  I try to balance wedding planning with my other projects- like my 2x a week webcomic (the first collection is now available to buy!), the kid’s book series (New book coming out soon!), and exhibiting at comic cons, schools, bookstores, etc. etc. etc (and oh yeah, a full time graphic design job!). I’d hate to give up any of these projects, as recovering from a hiatus can be especially hard in these fields. So, I utilize my planning and scheduling skills to the max, and keep on chuggin’. Rick has also been working hard for his Business Master’s degree from Rosemont College. In fact, he graduates May 15th! The flurry at the end was tough on him, the final for his last class was due the day after his final thesis was due… but he managed to get everything turned in, and JUST BARELY missed graduating with honors, poor guy. Needles to say, without our coordinator Lex, the stress level would be much higher.

Now I am afraid to blink again, because time sure is flyin’.

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The 1-Year Mark

November 9, 2009

Hello again. We hit the 1 year mark (and our 6th dating anniversary on November 9th) recently, and feeling pretty good about where we stand. The venue is booked, the caterer is as well, the cake/dessert is pretty much ironed out, and our coordinator is find new and creative ways to save us some money. The basic decor- tablecloths, china, napkins, centerpieces- are being picked out, not that we really had a specific idea in mind.. but that’s why we hired Alexia. She’s knows what’s classy, what will be up our alley, and what won’t break the bank. Big props to my Art Director for suggesting her.

Now, for some pictures. We went to the mansion to take photos so we can have some idea of the weather/colors come the big day. The weather was a cool 55 degrees, sunny, just in need of a light jacket… but it seems to be getting warmer into November, a good sign I suppose. Not as much “fireworks” leaves left on the trees as I had hoped for. Seems like Fairmount Park trees hold on to ‘em longer than the trees out here in Ridley State Park (drive through Fairmount Park every day on my commute to work). Guess we’ll have to hope next year there will be exceptionally warm weather in October, keep those leaves up on the trees. And oh yeah, that it won’t rain. ;0)

Ridley Mansion- 6th dating anniversary! Ridley Mansion- Hiking Trail Ridley Mansion- Ridley Mansion

A quick pan of the mansion from outside:

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September 2009 Update

September 14, 2009

Mansion in the fall

Well, many months have gone by… 9, to be exact (wow, really NINE? Sheesh.), and the wedding planning is coming along slowly. We have our date set, the venue reserved, and finding friends and family who can hopefully help with other parts of the whole “production”. The big step is that we can afford a coordinator…not exactly a “wedding planner”, thus comes with a smaller price tag, but she does exactly what we need to fill in the holes. Our coordinator is Alexia, a longtime friend and party coordinator for my company’s CEO, so I know she’s gotta be GOOD. Alexia’s got a great eye for decor and sensibility for what’s fitting for US, comes up with affordable ideas and will be there on the day itself to organize, decorate, gets things set up and rolling, and then broken down at the end. Which is a relief.

We’re pretty certain our caterer will be Giampino’s, a local Italian Restaurant right in Havertown, a place we’ve gone to for years, and makes some amazing dishes. It’ll be nice to give back to a family-owned place like this within walking distance of our house. The Sando side of Rick’s family often gathers there themselves, so I’m sure they will be THRILLED to hear Giampino’s will be catering!

I am working on getting the site updated, and designing the invites and the Save-the-Dates. The regular “formal” invites will be a time-consuming project as I am not only designing them but printing & assembling them, but the Save the Dates will be a fancy email to those who use email, and a traditional mailed notice to those who do not use email. This will also be the official “launch” of this website… So if you’re reading this, welcome!

Alexia, Rick and I adore the venue, and if early November is as warm as it was last year, we’ll be in for a treat. Buried in a park, the trees will be like fireworks, and there’s nothing like a crisp fall day. I do not want to give to much away, but the décor and “themes” are falling into place, and I am finally starting to envision what the day will look like. Piece by piece, we are finding ways to build an affordable wedding that suites us. We may be “breaking some rules” in how a wedding is planned or how the day itself will be laid out, but in the end it’ll be just as much of a celebration!

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