Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Successful Bachelor Party

Frank has returned from his successful bachelor party. While I don't know all that went on there, I think he was rather behaved. His brother couldn't make it, but that was pretty much expected. It sounds like he had a great time despite that. They played a lot of golf, attended the NCAA tournament, and I'm sure did many other boy things that I probably don't want to hear about.

To keep myself busy while he was away getting in trouble, I did absolutely nothing... seriously, nothing. I sat around all day by myself. I had plans to meet someone for lunch one day, but it didn't work out. Granted, I don't know a lot of people where I live now, but I think even if I did I still would've chosen to do nothing. When he planned his B-party months ago, I just knew I'd be all preoccupied and nervous. Usually I really miss Frank and get grumpy. I think I could have gone another week though. I've just been so busy and so tired that it felt so good to be lazy, make messes that I didn't have to clean up (until he returned), and have absolutely no one to answer to. I must say, it was nice. I do wish I'd done a couple of things differently, like treat myself to a spa day or something, but I really wasn't prepared to feel somewhat "happy" that my fiance was off with all his buddies on a bachelor party.

Honestly, I've never understood the tradition of a bachelor party. It really just never made sense to me. You decide you want to declare your love to someone and commit to them for life, but first you must go celebrate and "be single???" It is very contradicting to me. Obviously, I let Frank do his thing, but I will never "agree" with this tradition. Relationships should be publicly respectable, and whether your relationship is on display to your friends or total strangers, only you can choose how you want people to perceive it. I've never been one to stop someone from doing something they wanted though (we do only live once), so I happily dropped Frank off at the airport. I didn't get grumpy with him the entire weekend, which is pretty good for me, didn't text, and waited for him to call me. I can be pretty bratty, and whiny when I'm uneasy about things, so I must say I was very well behaved!

I did, however, lose it when Frank mentioned upon his return that his friends (primarily his brother) thought he should have another bachelor party since his brother couldn't make it. I said no...Ab...so...lute...ly NOT!!!! How ridiculous. As I said before, the point of getting married isn't to see how many strippers you can gawk at with your buddies before your wedding! Granted, this was coming from his friends (er...uh...brother), but Frank took the fall for this one. I think I yelled for about an hour and slept on the couch (it was really cold, but I had to prove my point.) It lasted about a full 24 hours, and I imagine with my inability to move on (yes, I know I should work on that) it'll come up again many times over the next couple of weeks months. Poor Frank. It was just a really ridiculous thing to say when you first get back from a 4 day bachelor fiesta! Hopefully he got the point from my mini-fit. You know though, his brother should really as they say "sac up", there was no excuse for him to not be at his brother's bachelor party. He is sad for choosing his pathetic girlfriend over his brother's bachelor party. You can't make that up by having a second one that your boss, I mean girlfriend, approves of... sorry. Nice try. His girlfriend, possibly soon to be fiance (GAG!!! Stay tuned for a real doozie of a blog about that subject!), probably won't even let him have a bachelor party. If he does have one though, trust me, I will personally make sure the booze is flowing and the strippers are endless!!!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Spain Pictures

I can't say enough how much fun we had in Spain. We saw so much of Andalusia, and it just got better and better every day. There were a few glitches on our trip, but for the most part everything ran seemingly better than planned.

If anyone is ever planning a trip to Spain, I am very happy to pass on some recommendations. Frank and I are already "tentatively" planning a 1 year anniversary trip to Portugal, just so we can go to Spain for a couple of days again. I would say Seville is a MUST DO, if you're ever in the area. It was by far my favorite part of the trip. Ronda was also a gorgeous city set way up in the mountains. Be advised though, that Ronda was dreadful to get to!!! You have to climb those mountains!!! :) It was worth every gasp and squeal though.

As promised, here are the pictures!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Back from Spain... Honeymoon Booked!!

Frank and I have returned from Spain... unfortunately!!! What a beautiful country. We had such a fantastic time, and drove all of southern Spain. I'm in the process of uploading pictures, things have just been crazy since we returned, they should all be up by tomorrow!!!

Walking around the charming old cities of Spain was amazing, and everywhere I turned I saw bridal shops. I was quite surprised by it, and the dresses were gorgeous with just a little bit of Spanish flare. It made me quite excited to begin my dress hunt and dive deeper into the process of our wedding planning. (It also made me wish I'd brought along a wad of cash, so I could get my dress there!)

While in Spain, we did decide where we wanted to have our honeymoon... Morocco!!! We were so impressed and intrigued by the Moroccan influence on southern Spain. Everything was colorful, fun, and just gorgeous. We loved the architecture, bright white washed buildings everywhere surrounded by colors... lots of colors. We really enjoyed the people as well, and were sad we didn't plan a trip to visit Tangier, Morocco by ferry for a day. After days of regret, we decided it would be the perfect place for us to visit for our honeymoon. I'm so happy we found a place we are both so excited about.

So, upon returning home Frank got right to work on finding a hotel. Originally we wanted to go to Casablanca, but after reading many, MANY reviews on the tendency to be mugged and the dirtiness of the hotels, we looked into Marrakesh. We found the cutest and most romantic place. It is such a great deal, and close to the souks (the street markets) and just so "Moroccan." The hotel is called the Riad Zolah, and we booked Suite 2. It is in a great location, has great reviews, and great activities (like camel riding) that I'm very excited about. I think it is safe to say that Frank is even more excited than me though!!! Which makes me a very happy Bride-to-be!!!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Bachelor Parties

I think its safe to say that about 99% of women hate the idea of a bachelor party. Maybe less, but coming from a girl whose fiance is about to have one in a couple of weeks it sounds pretty accurate. I trust him completely, yes, and he tells me there won't even be "girls" involved. Yeah... tell that to all of his friends.

I guess this isn't really about my discomfort with bachelor parties though. This is about Frank, and his bachelor party.

See, his bachelor party was SO important to him (there was something very specific he wanted to do) that he actually started planning it before we were even engaged. Weird, I know. I hated it... oh did I hate it. Again, not about me... about Frank. Anyways, his bachelor party is happening well before our actual wedding. Again, a little strange. Again, its what he really wanted to do. It is not happening in the most convenient time, or place, but its happening and I'm trying my best to be excited with him. Sadly though, the person he would like to be there the most "can't" go. His brother. Not because he can't afford it, not because he has to work, but because his girlfriend won't let him.

Now I try my best to be nice to people, and accept people, but if you had heard Frank when he told me his brother would not be attending... it broke my heart. He was really pretty disappointed. Now, this girl has a reason... sort of. Its her birthday. Frank didn't schedule it that way on purpose, the NCAA did (he wants to go to the basketball tournament.) I understand its a special day, but c'mon. You're going to be 28 years old, and you'll have another birthday next year! Couldn't they do something to celebrate her birthday a different night??? Frank won't be having another bachelor party, this is it. Honestly though, the worst part is that she's really just using her birthday as an excuse because I don't think she'd let him go anyways. Now, I could go on and on about her because this isn't the first time I've found her to be the most selfish person in the world (we were told we HAD to buy her Christmas presents around $100.00 each,) but again, this isn't about her or me. Poor Frank. I wish there was something I could do to convince his brother to go.

Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty bummed today along with my hubby-to-be.


Case of a Bad Bridal Blogger

Yes, I'm guilty of it lately. I have been so busy preparing for our upcoming trip to Spain and raising our new kitty, all while studying for all while trying to keep up in school and midterms. Not really a great excuse, but its my excuse. :)

So I caught the Disney's Fairytale Wedding special. My thoughts??? Eh... it was Disney. It got me all excited, but left me wanting more... so much more. I think that's what they're best at. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, and the wedding they covered was gorgeous! I just can't wait to finally be able to have my own planning session and see everything they have to offer. Having done a fair amount of research regarding Disney weddings, I know what they offer and how far they will go.

As I said, Frank and I are heading out to Spain soon. This Thursday actually. I can't wait, I just want to get away from school... and homework... and snow. The Internet will be spotty there, I actually don't know if we'll have it at all, so I'm going to try to squeeze a couple of posts in before we go just in case. :)


Friday, March 6, 2009

Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings

I just received an email from Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings with some exciting news! For any past or future Disney Brides out there, or any other curious and/or interested Brides... or anyone interested really, tune in this Sunday night, March 8, 2009, at 9:00 pm/8 c to watch Disney's Dream Weddings!



Rehearsal Dinner

So when Frank and I first began thinking about having a Disney wedding, we laid out what both of us really wanted more than anything else. His list was this:

1) Magic Kingdom Ceremony (This was quickly changed when he learned of all the strict guidelines, and also of the back-up/rain location)
2) Making me happy

My list was a little longer (and selfish), but since he really was the one who picked Disney World as our destination wedding site, I figure I'm entitled. Especially since Fiji is sounding better and better every day!
1) Outside wedding (this changed as soon as I found out if it rained the back-up location was basically a giant conference hall, I'm really quite happy with our choices though, the Wedding Pavillion is gorgeous!)
2) Rehearsal dinner at Jiko
3) A dessert party at Epcot

We have finally confirmed our rehearsal dinner, and I am so excited. For those of you not familiar with dining at Disney restaurants, it is absolutely outstanding! Jiko is hands down my favorite restaurant anywhere though. We have booked the wine room, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I've always wanted to book the wine room there, but its pretty pricey, so you really need to have a good reason to book it. Poor Frank was actually not impressed with the pricing situation, but he knows how much I had my heart set on it. I just LOVE this place, and it is a really special restaurant for us. It is the first "fancy" restaurant we went to together, and we go literally every time we go to Disney World. It is our one "must do." I am so excited to share this restaurant with our closest friends and family.


Jiko
I cannot credit this photo, as I downloaded it some time ago and have lost its credentials. If this is your photo and you would like to receive credit, please contact me!
Jiko
I cannot credit this photo, as I downloaded it some time ago and have lost its credentials. If this is your photo and you would like to receive credit, please contact me!
Jiko's Wine Room
I cannot credit this photo, as I downloaded it some time ago and have lost its credentials. If this is your photo and you would like to receive credit, please contact me!

The menu changes seasonally and out guests will be able to order from the full restaurant menu. If you've never seen a Jiko menu, this link will give you an idea of what they serve. If you are ever travelling to Disney World, this restaurant comes HIGHLY recommended. It has won many, many awards and ranks as one of the top restaurants consistently.


Monday, March 2, 2009

Groom of the Year

I am so upset with Frank for not entering the Brides.com Groom of the Year contest. I truly thought I had convinced him to do it. I genuinely thought that he found it to be a good idea. I mean, you get a giant tv... what guy doesn't want that!?!? Poor Frank, I tried to sell out my own fiance for some free stuff. :) Just call me fiance-zilla. In any case, go vote! Some lucky couple walks away with a bountiful prize package, but there are chances for voters to win prizes too!!!