Food Glorious Food!!!

Last time, I let everyone know that we were meeting with our vendors. We have selected cakes and have a preliminary menu. I am enthused about the food at this shindig!

We chose Hilde at Magnificent Cakes to do both the bride and groom's cakes. Her work is fantabulous, and the cakes are scrumptious. When we got there, you could smell cakes baking in the oven (so my mouth had already begun to salivate). Hilde had about six or seven flavors for us to taste ranging from vanilla to peanut butter. Ken and I looked over her portfolio and conversed with her as we ate each cake on our plate. This has nothing to do with us, but I was amazed by the cakes she had created in the past. I watch Food Network all the time, so I know that creating cakes is now a true art form, and Hilde is able to create and sculpt with the best of them. Anyway, we chose buttercream icing and Italian creme filling for my cake, and Ken's cakes... well let's just say there will be five and all are candy bar flavors. Ken selected five 10" round cakes. His flavors are Oreo, Heath Bar, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, and Snickers!!! I am sure each of those cakes will be devoured---please eat some of my cake too---that is all I ask.
The picture to the right is similar to the cake design for me. Our initials will appear on the second tier instead of the top, and fresh flowers will be at the corners and on the top of the cake.

Well that is enough about the cakes... later Tuesday night, we met with Executive Sous Chef Jeff Jones to discuss menu ideas. I like to eat, but I was completely out of my element meeting with Jeff and Ken. There palates are soooo sophisticated that all I could say while I was there is "I want good."

So here is the a quick run down of what we discussed (it's not final, but it sure could be). We are thinking of having a Top Round station, gourmet mac and cheese station ( different cheeses and toppings for mac and cheese- in case you were wondering like me), prosciutto and melon/figs, grilled asparagus w/ feta cheese, grilled chicken skewers w/ various glazes, shrimp cocktail, salmon and small plate station, antipasto station, fruit and cheese displays, citrus punch, wine, and passed champagne. It's a lot of food, sure to help us ring in the new year right!!! The only thing I can say is " I can't wait..."

Planning

Hi everyone!!! Just thought I would update you all on how planning is going. I would like to say that Ken is being more than helpful. We have made appointments to talk to most of the major vendors. We are meeting with the cake lady tomorrrow, our caterer during the week, and we will choose invitations this week as well. I have picked the dress I would like for my bridesmaids. I went for Bill Levkoff's Style 966.

The dress is a formal length made of satin. It comes with a shawl that is optional to wear. The color chosen for the dress is European Black. So, now that I have gotten dresses picked, and a vendor to order them from, I must decide if everyone will have to get the same shoe. Decisions decisions...
I am working on finalizing the wedding party with Ken. Then on to bigger projects, like tackling the guest lists.

Right now, both of our lists are out of control. I am ready to reign it in, but Ken not so much. I remember when we first started discussing guests, he thought that his list would be ultra short. Ha !!! His list is much longer than my own, and I have a huge family to invite. Needless to say, there is a lot of work to be done there. I am sure we will, but I do agree it is really hard to cut people. We both are finding that people will invite themselves (which is kinda funny). I don't have the heart to tell them initially they probably won't get an invite. I am sure we will find the most delicate way to handle that segment.

I am trying to not stress out about tomorrow, but I can't say that I am doing that very well. So please keep us in your prayers as we continue to book vendors and plan the rest of our lives.

How We Met

I was so excited to tell everyone that we are engaged that I forgot to tell you how we met. No journey is complete without its origins. So here it goes...

Ken and I met New Year's Eve 2007 through a mutual friend. Our friend Wykeenia had been telling us we needed to talk for sometime; I don't think either of us really put much stock into it. I was still hanging on to past relationships, and who knows what Ken was up to at that time. What is most interesting about our meeting is that Ken and Wykeenia worked at the same place for only two days. I spent almost every day or weekend at Wykeenia's and Ken and she kept in touch through emails. Ken often gave Wykeenia new recipes to try out, and I was always around to taste them.

Anyhoo, Ken and I exchanged pics through Wykeenia, and I got his telephone number. I didn't call, but Wykeenia and I were going to ring in 2008 together. Wykeenia called Ken, while I was still awake, to see what he was up to. He had worked that night and was pretty tired, but he managed to stay up and talk for a while. It was interesting to find out that Ken was younger than me but decided that I would not let that hinder me from getting to know him. From then on we talked every night for a month until two o'clock in the morning or until one of us fell asleep (usually Ken).

A couple of weeks into the late night phone calls, we decided to meet in-person. Since our schedules were completely opposite, lunch was the best time to do so. However, each time we set something up, I had to cancel because of work. After close to a month, we finally met for drinks at On Tap. I was running a few minutes late and scurrying across the parking lot. Ken, was sitting in his car watching me hurry and planning his casual entrance.

We hit it off and the rest is OURstory!

The proposal !!!

Hi Everyone!!! I am new to blogging, but I figured this would be a good way to document the wedding planning process for Ken and me. We are finally engaged!!! Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been excited about wanting to marry Ken since I met him.
Sooooo, our engagement was definitely us. It isn't anyone else's story.

Basically, we were at my place one night watching tv and talking. Ken started telling me that he found a ring for me. And of course, I don't like surprises, so I started asking a bunch of questions. He didn't know if he wanted to tell me, but he started giving me a few details. I noticed he became fidgety( which he does when he is nervous)... He began to tell me that he couldn't imagine life without me. He also told me that he was looking at size 6 ring (My finger is a size 5!!!) but that is okay. So he kept telling me about the ring and how much he has enjoyed the last year or so with me. He then asked if he proposed to me, would I say yes. I told him I couldn't say no because he probably wouldn't ask again. So at that moment, he got on his knees and told me he couldn't imagine spending life without me and said my whole name (which is really difficult to hear unless I am in trouble with my mom or getting a diploma) and asked me to be his wife. I said "Sure!" So there you go, we had no ring, but we were as serious as one could be when planning the rest of your life. He started to panic and tried to find something that would symbolize our love until I got my ring. He came up with his favorite cross necklace he got on a trip to Mexico, and that was my "engagement piece." Totally unplanned, in the moment, not traditional, but all Ken and Tujuana!!!

I could not pick a better person to spend my life with. I'm excited and can't wait to get through the next 8 months. We decided on January 1, 2o10. So wish me luck, pray a lot and see you all next time for a Journey update.